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Scientists create atomic scale map that tracks how brain signals connect to neurons

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have used supercomputers to create an atomic scale map that tracks how the signaling chemical glutamate binds to a neuron in the brain. The findings, say the scientists, shed light on the dynamic physics of the chemical's pathway, as well as the speed of nerve cell communications.

15 Dec 2017

Harvard scientists discover hundreds of genetic switches that influence height

It's been understood for decades that a host of factors - everything from pre- and post-natal health, nutrition, and genetics - play a role in determining height, but efforts to untangle the complex web of factors that contribute to height have long been stymied.

6 Dec 2017

Lithium chloride prevents neurological damage tied to fetal alcohol syndrome, mice study shows

A single dose of lithium chloride, a drug used to treat bipolar disease and aggression, blocks the sleep disturbances, memory loss, and learning problems tied to fetal alcohol syndrome, new experiments in mice show.

5 Dec 2017

Scientists develop new method to study Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the lab

Scientists have developed a new system to study Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the laboratory, paving the way for research to find treatments for the fatal brain disorder.

20 Nov 2017

Brain astrocytes could play key role in pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease

Astrocytes, the supporting cells of the brain, could play a significant role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), according to a new study from the University of Eastern Finland. This is the first time researchers discovered a direct association between astrocytes and AD. Published in Stem Cell Reports, the study investigated the brain cell function of familial AD patients by using stem cell technologies.

17 Nov 2017

Sleepless nights lead to sluggish brain activity

A new study has shown that some brain cells actually slow down if a person has not got adequate sleep at night. This leads to periods of mental lapses. Researchers of University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Tel Aviv University have proven this in their published study that appeared in the journal Nature Medicine online this Monday (6th of November 2017).

6 Nov 2017

Inflammation in mid-life may be linked to brain shrinkage decades later

People who have biomarkers tied to inflammation in their blood in their 40s and 50s may have more brain shrinkage decades later than people without the biomarkers, according to a study published in the November 1, 2017, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The brain cell loss was found especially in areas of the brain that are affected by Alzheimer's disease.

2 Nov 2017

Alzheimer's disease could be triggered by breakdowns from other parts of the body

Alzheimer's disease, the leading cause of dementia, has long been assumed to originate in the brain. But research from the University of British Columbia and Chinese scientists indicates that it could be triggered by breakdowns elsewhere in the body.

31 Oct 2017

Researchers discover quirk of cell aging that could help detect late-onset Alzheimer's

Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Dentistry and McGovern Medical School have discovered a previously unknown characteristic of brain-cell aging that could help detect late-onset Alzheimer's disease decades before symptoms begin.

30 Oct 2017

Researchers mine blood-based epigenetic data to gain insights into autism biology

Using data from blood and brain tissue, a team led by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that they could gain insights into mechanisms that might help explain autism by analyzing the interplay between genes and chemical tags that control whether genes are used to make a protein, called epigenetic marks.

25 Oct 2017

NIH launches major effort to discover, catalog the brain's ‘parts list’

The National Institutes of Health has launched a major effort to discover and catalog the brain's "parts list." The NIH's Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® Initiative Cell Census Network aims to provide researchers with a comprehensive reference of the diverse cell types in human, monkey, and mouse brain.

24 Oct 2017

Scientists find new way to produce brain cells from single iPSC

Li Gan, PhD, wants to find treatments to help patients with Alzheimer's disease. Like most researchers, she's hit a few major roadblocks.

10 Oct 2017

Impairing critical partnership between brain cells can lead to Alzheimer's disease

Researchers have discovered that impairing a critical partnership between brain cells can lead to neurodegeneration. The study published in Cell Metabolism reports a mechanism by which two types of brain cells, neurons and glia, normally support each other's functions.

30 Sep 2017

Adding, removing water from a stem cell can determine its role as bone or fat

Adding or removing water from a stem cell can change the destiny of the cell, researchers have discovered in a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

27 Sep 2017

Tulane researchers move closer to improving treatment for chronic depression

In a new study published in the journal Cell Reports, researchers associated with the Tulane Brain Institute say they have moved a step closer to improving treatment for chronic depression.

7 Sep 2017

Wayne State researchers receive $1.9 million NIH grant to better understand rare genetic disorders

A team of Wayne State University researchers recently received a $1.9 million grant from the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health to better understand leukodystrophies (LD) and genetic Leukoencephalopathies (gLE), rare genetic disorders affecting the white matter -- myelin -- in the central nervous system.

21 Jul 2017

Biomedical engineering professor wins $2 million grant for concussion research

Barclay Morrison, professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia Engineering, has won a $2 million five-year grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation to study the underlying mechanisms of concussion.

15 Jun 2017

New protocol offers faster and more effective way to obtain astrocytes from stem cells

Neurons have long enjoyed the spotlight in neuroscience--and for good reason: they are incredibly important cellular actors. But, increasingly, star-shaped support cells called astrocytes are being seen as more than bit players in the brain's rich pageant.

6 Jun 2017

Study: Abnormal proteins in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's diseases share similar feature

A Loyola University Chicago study has found that abnormal proteins found in Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease all share a similar ability to cause damage when they invade brain cells.

23 May 2017

Drug used to treat bipolar disorder may help prevent brain cell damage in TBI patients

A drug used to treat bipolar disorder and other forms of depression may help to preserve brain function and prevent nerve cells from dying in people with a traumatic brain injury, according to a new Rutgers University study.

8 May 2017