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Neuroscientists identify specific enzyme that plays critical role in spinal muscular atrophy

Neuroscientists have discovered a specific enzyme that plays a critical role in spinal muscular atrophy, and that suppressing this enzyme's activity, could markedly reduce the disease's severity and improve patients' lifestyles.

19 Feb 2016

Caltech researchers identify gene that causes severe insomnia when overactivated

Caltech biologists have performed the first large-scale screening in a vertebrate animal for genes that regulate sleep, and have identified a gene that when overactivated causes severe insomnia. Expression of the gene, neuromedin U (Nmu), also seems to serve as nature's stimulant--fish lacking the gene take longer to wake up in the morning and are less active during the day.

18 Feb 2016

Researchers reveal how brain-specific microRNA plays key role in causing abnormal brain development

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are a group of highly inheritable behavioural disorders that pose major personal and public health concerns. Patients with ASDs have mild to severe communication difficulties, repetitive behaviour and social challenges. Such disorders significantly challenge an individual's ability to conduct daily activities and function normally in society. Currently there are very few medication options that effectively treat ASDs.

17 Feb 2016

New optogenetic technology could turn on immune cells to attack melanoma tumors

A new optogenetic technology developed at UMass Medical School, called optogenetic immunomodulation, is capable of turning on immune cells to attack melanoma tumors in mice. Using near-infrared light, UMMS researchers have shown they can selectively activate an immune response by controlling the flow of calcium ions into the cell. This breakthrough could lead to less invasive, and more controlled and selective, immunotherapies for cancer treatment.

17 Feb 2016

Small peptide TAxI holds promise for carrying biologic drugs into spinal cord

A small peptide dubbed TAxI is living up to its name. Recent studies show it to be an effective vehicle for shuttling functional proteins, such as active enzymes, into the spinal cord after a muscle injection.

17 Feb 2016

Research shows how developing neurons use copper for their various needs

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have used a precision sensor in a chicken embryo to find dramatic differences in the use of copper between developing and fully mature neurons.

17 Feb 2016

Researchers identify brain region where Alzheimer's disease starts

A critical but vulnerable region in the brain appears to be the first place affected by late onset Alzheimer's disease and may be more important for maintaining cognitive function in later life than previously appreciated, according to a new review of the scientific literature.

17 Feb 2016

Regrowing dopaminergic neurons may lead to new therapy for Parkinson's disease

While scientists are unsure of the molecular causes of Parkinson's Disease, they do know the disorder's tremors and other motor dysfunctions are linked to a loss of dopaminergic neurons located in the substantia nigra, a structure in the midbrain.

16 Feb 2016

Researchers report first-ever link between noradrenergic neurons and vulnerability to depression

The team of Bruno Giros, a researcher at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute and professor of psychiatry at McGill University, reports the first-ever connection between noradrenergic neurons and vulnerability to depression. Published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, this breakthrough paves the way for new depression treatments that target the adrenergic system.

15 Feb 2016

Scientists discover role of nucleocytoplasmic transport in specific forms of ALS and FTD

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are two devastating adult-onset neurodegenerative disorders.

15 Feb 2016

Nine researchers win EPSRC Healthcare Technologies Challenge Awards

Nine researchers, working on innovative projects that promise to improve healthcare diagnosis and treatment, across a wide spread of issues, were today announced as the first recipients of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council's (EPSRC) Healthcare Technologies Challenge Awards.

15 Feb 2016

People with sleep apnea have low levels of GABA and high levels of glutamate

One in 15 adults has moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, a disorder in which a person's breathing is frequently interrupted during sleep -- as many as 30 times per hour.

12 Feb 2016

TSRI scientists receive $1.7 million NIH grant to find new target for treating Huntington's disease

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have won nearly $1.7 million from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to investigate the mechanisms that contribute to Huntington's disease, a fatal inherited disease that some have described as having ALS, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's--at the same time.

12 Feb 2016

Animal study shows link between oxygen-sensing neurons and fat-burning circuit

A new study in animal models, led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), is the first to show that oxygen sensing in the brain has a role in metabolism and sensing an organism's internal state.

12 Feb 2016

Starting marijuana at younger age may hinder brain development

The age at which an adolescent begins using marijuana may affect typical brain development, according to researchers at the Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas. In a paper recently published in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, scientists describe how marijuana use, and the age at which use is initiated, may adversely alter brain structures that underlie higher order thinking.

11 Feb 2016

Boosting intrinsic growth programs can enhance axon regeneration of injured neurons

Damage to axons in the central nervous system (CNS) typically results in permanent functional deficits. Boosting intrinsic growth programs can dramatically augment the axon regeneration of injured neurons. If injured neurons can regenerate sufficient number of axons, the CNS may recover and overcome such functional deficits.

11 Feb 2016

Fasudil improves memory in rats, promotes degradation of toxic tau in the eyes of fruit flies

Could a kinase inhibitor some doctors prescribe to keep blood flowing after brain surgery be used to treat neurodegeneration? New research suggests it might be worth exploring the question.

10 Feb 2016

U of A researchers use ultrashort laser pulses to connect neurons

A research team based in the University of Alberta Faculty of Engineering has developed a method of connecting neurons, using ultrashort laser pulses--a breakthrough technique that opens the door to new medical research and treatment opportunities.

10 Feb 2016

New study pinpoints two tiny clusters of neurons responsible for changing normal breaths into sighs

"You must remember this: a kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh." Contrary to the words immortalized by the piano singer in "Casablanca," a sigh is far more than a sigh. Heaving an unconscious sigh is a life-sustaining reflex that helps preserve lung function.

9 Feb 2016

Aggression influences new nerve cell production in the brain

A group of neurobiologists from Russia and the USA, including Dmitry Smagin, Tatyana Michurina, and Grigori Enikolopov from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, have proven experimentally that aggression has an influence on the production of new nerve cells in the brain.

8 Feb 2016

Neurons News and Research

Neuroscientists identify specific enzyme that plays critical role in spinal muscular atrophy

Caltech researchers identify gene that causes severe insomnia when overactivated

Researchers reveal how brain-specific microRNA plays key role in causing abnormal brain development

New optogenetic technology could turn on immune cells to attack melanoma tumors

Small peptide TAxI holds promise for carrying biologic drugs into spinal cord

Research shows how developing neurons use copper for their various needs

Researchers identify brain region where Alzheimer's disease starts

Regrowing dopaminergic neurons may lead to new therapy for Parkinson's disease

Researchers report first-ever link between noradrenergic neurons and vulnerability to depression

Scientists discover role of nucleocytoplasmic transport in specific forms of ALS and FTD

Nine researchers win EPSRC Healthcare Technologies Challenge Awards

People with sleep apnea have low levels of GABA and high levels of glutamate

TSRI scientists receive $1.7 million NIH grant to find new target for treating Huntington's disease

Animal study shows link between oxygen-sensing neurons and fat-burning circuit

Starting marijuana at younger age may hinder brain development

Boosting intrinsic growth programs can enhance axon regeneration of injured neurons

Fasudil improves memory in rats, promotes degradation of toxic tau in the eyes of fruit flies

U of A researchers use ultrashort laser pulses to connect neurons

New study pinpoints two tiny clusters of neurons responsible for changing normal breaths into sighs

Aggression influences new nerve cell production in the brain

Human iPSCs: A Full Guide to Advanced in Vitro Models and Applications eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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