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Research provides new insight into the effect of misfolded proteins in neurodegenerative disorders

Research by the University of Southampton has provided new insight into the consequence of accumulated 'misfolded proteins' in neurodegenerative disorders, such as Prion and Alzheimer's disease.

16 Feb 2014

Chronic stress generates long-term changes in brain that lead to mental problems

University of California, Berkeley, researchers have shown that chronic stress generates long-term changes in the brain that may explain why people suffering chronic stress are prone to mental problems such as anxiety and mood disorders later in life.

12 Feb 2014

Long-distance signaling molecules tell brain to produce anti-viral interferon

The brain contains a defense system that prevents at least two unrelated viruses-and possibly many more-from invading the brain at large. The research is published online ahead of print in the Journal of Virology.

11 Feb 2014

Scientists find a clue as to why muscles weaken with age

Scientists from the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio have found a clue as to why muscles weaken with age. In a study published Feb. 5 in The Journal of Neuroscience, they report the first evidence that "set points" in the nervous system are not inalterably determined during development but instead can be reset with age. They observed a change in set point that resulted in significantly diminished motor function in aging fruit flies.

9 Feb 2014

New study provides important understanding of what drives appetite

While the function of eating is to nourish the body, this is not what actually compels us to seek out food. Instead, it is hunger, with its stomach-growling sensations and gnawing pangs that propels us to the refrigerator - or the deli or the vending machine. Although hunger is essential for survival, abnormal hunger can lead to obesity and eating disorders, widespread problems now reaching near-epidemic proportions around the world.

9 Feb 2014

Researchers gain better understanding of HIV infection through electron microscopy

The human intestinal tract, or gut, is best known for its role in digestion. But this collection of organs also plays a prominent role in the immune system. In fact, it is one of the first parts of the body that is attacked in the early stages of an HIV infection. Knowing how the virus infects cells and accumulates in this area is critical to developing new therapies for the over 33 million people worldwide living with HIV. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology are the first to have utilized high-resolution electron microscopy to look at HIV infection within the actual tissue of an infected organism, providing perhaps the most detailed characterization yet of HIV infection in the gut.

30 Jan 2014

Hotspots of fuel consumption in adult brain also show key characteristics of developing brain

Although brain growth slows as individuals age, some regions of the brain continue to develop for longer than others, creating new connections and remodeling existing circuitry.

7 Jan 2014

Studies yield new insights into molecular mechanisms that underlie learning process

Learning requires constant reconfiguration of the connections between nerve cells. Two new studies now yield new insights into the molecular mechanisms that underlie the learning process.

22 Dec 2013

Scientists identify important new genes for epilepsy

Scientists screening the DNA of large cohorts for known and suspected epilepsy associated genes are finding that, while some genes are implicated in discrete phenotypes or forms of epilepsy, other genes are implicated in a wider range of phenotypes. Although ion channel genes are a common cause of epilepsy, the researchers also report a significant number of epilepsy patients with mutations in non-ion channel genes. The studies have important implications for treatment, prognosis and risk counseling.

9 Dec 2013

Researchers identify gene involved in building circuitry that relays signals via brain

Using a powerful gene-hunting technique for the first time in mammalian brain cells, researchers at Johns Hopkins report they have identified a gene involved in building the circuitry that relays signals through the brain.

5 Dec 2013

Biologists discover how nerve cells recycle tiny vesicles

University of Utah and German biologists discovered how nerve cells recycle tiny bubbles or "vesicles" that send chemical nerve signals from one cell to the next. The process is much faster and different than two previously proposed mechanisms for recycling the bubbles.

5 Dec 2013

Neuroscientists discover new role played by common but mysterious class of brain cells

Stanford University School of Medicine neuroscientists have discovered a new role played by a common but mysterious class of brain cells.

26 Nov 2013

Studies link hundreds of gene mutations in the brain to increased autism risk

Pity the poor autism researcher. Recent studies have linked hundreds of gene mutations scattered throughout the brain to increased autism risk. Where do you start?

22 Nov 2013

Researchers identify critical mechanism to improve survival and behavior of new brain cells

A specialized type of brain cell that tamps down stem cell activity ironically, perhaps, encourages the survival of the stem cells' progeny, Johns Hopkins researchers report.

11 Nov 2013

Cancer research leaders announce the opening of ICGC-TCGA-DREAM SMC Challenge

Cancer research leaders from the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and the University of California, Santa Cruz, in collaboration with Sage Bionetworks and IBM's DREAM, will announce tomorrow the opening of the ICGC-TCGA-DREAM Somatic Mutation Calling Challenge at the Sixth Annual RECOMB/ISCB conference.

8 Nov 2013

MGH researchers identify probable mechanism for pain-induced cognitive impairment

The pain caused by a surgical incision may contribute to the risk of postoperative cognitive dysfunction, a sometimes transient impairment in learning and memory that affects a small but significant number of patients in the days following a surgical procedure.

7 Nov 2013

Magnesium deficiency may play important role in cognitive impairment

November is National Alzheimer's Awareness Month and the serious issues of cognitive health will be in the spotlight in the coming weeks. The medical community agrees that cognitive impairment, ranging from mild to severe, is almost epidemic in the U.S. as the Baby Boomer generation is aging and living longer. Scientists believe one reason is that the human brain begins shrinking after age 25. Structural changes and loss of brain synapses lead to rapid decline in cognitive health.

5 Nov 2013

Study in mice may help in the development of more effective treatments for anxiety disorders

Excessive fear can develop after a traumatic experience, leading to anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder and phobias. During exposure therapy, an effective and common treatment for anxiety disorders, the patient confronts a fear or memory of a traumatic event in a safe environment, which leads to a gradual loss of fear.

4 Nov 2013

Study reveals that glial cells are integral to brain function

New research by scientists at UC San Francisco shows that one of the brain's fundamental self-protection mechanisms depends on coordinated, finely calibrated teamwork among neurons and non-neural cells knows as glial cells, which until fairly recently were thought to be mere support cells for neurons.

23 Oct 2013

Learning mentally challenging skills may help improve memory in older people, says study

Seniors who step outside their comfort zones could be enhancing their memories beyond those who stick with what they know.

22 Oct 2013