Brain News and Research

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The human brain is the center of the human nervous system and is a highly complex organ. Enclosed in the cranium, it has the same general structure as the brains of other mammals, but is over three times as large as the brain of a typical mammal with an equivalent body size.

Fish oil supplements show little benefit for Alzheimer's prevention

Americans spend more than $1 billion annually on fish oil supplements, in part due to purported cognitive benefits from the omega-3 fatty acids they contain, essential nutrients that help form brain cell connections needed for cognition.

18 Jun 2026

Repeated low-level blast exposure linked to higher anger risk in veterans

Careers that tend to expose people to repeated low-level shockwaves are associated with a slightly higher risk of clinically documented anger, aggression, and violence, new research from University of Utah Health has found.

18 Jun 2026

Scientists discover rotating brain waves that coordinate sensory information

Spiraling waves of neural activity appear and travel in the brain. Scientists hope to learn if these rotating waves on-the-move play a global role in sensing and interpreting internal and external stimuli, in laying down memory, and in managing motor performance.

18 Jun 2026

New CellTrap technology reveals how single immune cells attack brain tumors

Established laboratory tests mainly capture average values across many cells and show, for example, how many cancer cells survive after contact with immune cells.

18 Jun 2026

Mental health problems common in encephalitis survivors, study finds

A major new study has found that mental health and behavioral changes such as depression, anxiety, and emotional instability are common in people who survive encephalitis - inflammation of the brain that can be caused by infection or autoimmune disease.

18 Jun 2026

New biological age tools could reveal health risks before symptoms appear

A JCI review traces biological age measurement from functional tests and blood biomarkers to epigenetic, proteomic, imaging, wearable, and AI-based clocks. It finds that these tools can improve risk prediction beyond chronological age, but standardization, interpretability, and prospective validation are needed before routine clinical use.

18 Jun 2026

Gut microbes may help explain why obesity and type 2 diabetes become harder to reverse

This review describes how gut microbial messengers, including SCFAs, microbiota-modified bile acids, neuroactive metabolites, and extracellular vesicles, may shape obesity and type 2 diabetes through the microbiota-gut-brain axis.

17 Jun 2026

Neurological disorders may raise traumatic brain injury risk in older adults

For traumatic brain injury (TBI) and certain brain diseases, it looks like the risk may go in both directions, according to a study published on June 17, 2026, in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

17 Jun 2026

Cerebral organoid model offers insights into the mechanisms of Ebola virus persistence

Following infection, Ebola virus can survive unnoticed in the human body for months or even years, hiding in areas with little immune surveillance like the central nervous system.

17 Jun 2026

Preoperative radiation boosts immunotherapy response in brain metastases

A new study led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center demonstrated that pre-operative radiation therapy for brain metastases not only targets tumor cells directly but also can activate immune pathways that can make tumors more receptive to immunotherapy.

17 Jun 2026

AI accurately measures mesothelioma tumors for better treatment decisions

Physicians and researchers at the Netherlands Cancer Institute have developed an AI model that outperforms physicians at evaluating treatment response in pleural mesothelioma.

17 Jun 2026

Researchers uncover genetic cause of spontaneous spinal CSF leaks

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University and Johns Hopkins University have identified genetic mutations that may explain why some people develop a spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak in the spine.

17 Jun 2026

Key Alzheimer's protein actively protects neurons from nuclear damage

Researchers at Niigata University's Brain Research Institute have uncovered a new function of amyloid precursor protein (APP), a molecule long studied as the precursor to amyloid-β (Aβ) in Alzheimer's disease (AD).

17 Jun 2026

Autism study reveals shared brain cell changes during early development

Hundreds of genes have been linked to autism, yet the precise molecular and cellular mechanisms behind it remain largely unclear.

17 Jun 2026

Weight-loss medications lessen the risk of violent criminal behavior

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) are widely prescribed for diabetes and obesity, but studies have found evidence that the medications may also influence behavior, such as supporting impulse control and reducing substance use and alcohol consumption by potentially interacting with the brain's reward and stress systems.

17 Jun 2026

Developing brain cells routinely repair severe DNA damage during migration

Newborn nerve cells must squeeze through crowded, narrow spaces-through dense tissue, past other cells, between fibers-to reach the areas where they form neural circuits in the brain cortex.

17 Jun 2026

AI-designed drug for Parkinson's begins first human trial

Insilico Medicine ("Insilico", HKEX: 3696), a clinical-stage biotechnology company powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI), today announced it has achieved the first clinical milestone in its co-development collaboration with Hygtia Therapeutics with the completion of first-in-human dosing in the Phase I study of ISM8969.

17 Jun 2026

Novel gene therapy appears to be safe for Friedreich ataxia cardiomyopathy

A new gene therapy appears to be safe in patients diagnosed with Friedreich ataxia cardiomyopathy, a progressive and fatal inherited cardiac disease, according to a phase 1 clinical trial led by Weill Cornell Medicine researchers.

17 Jun 2026

Ingestible vibrating pill identifies anorexia nervosa patients at risk of relapse

A vibrating pill could help doctors determine if a patient with anorexia nervosa may have a higher risk of relapse, according to a new study by UCLA Health.

17 Jun 2026

Adverse life experiences alter brain structure linked to schizophrenia

Carnegie Mellon University and University of California, San Francisco researchers found that childhood trauma, poverty, social isolation and other adverse life experiences are associated with brain changes linked to schizophrenia-spectrum disorders - findings that could help researchers identify people at risk earlier and develop interventions before severe symptoms emerge.

17 Jun 2026