Brain News and Research

RSS

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.

Sickness behavior may be a coordinated whole organism immune strategy

Symptoms such as fatigue, loss of appetite, altered sleep, and social withdrawal are often treated as inconvenient side effects of infection.

30 Apr 2026

Degeneration in two brain regions causes severe narcolepsy symptoms

For nearly 25 years, scientists believed they knew what caused the most severe form of narcolepsy. A new UCLA Health study now suggests they were only half correct.

30 Apr 2026

New spinal cord interface restores bladder control and sensation

Approximately 308,000 people in the United States live with spinal cord injury. Nearly all lose bladder control. And yet the vast majority of research and engineering attention in neurotech has poured into motor restoration-making paralyzed limbs move again.

30 Apr 2026

Climate change increases stroke risk through extreme weather and pollution

The World Stroke Organization is warning that climate change poses an escalating threat to brain health, with extreme heat in particular increasing the risk of having a stroke and of patients dying from stroke.

30 Apr 2026

Glucose acts as a metabolic signal for myelin development

Researchers at the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center (CUNY ASRC) have uncovered a surprising link between low brain sugar levels and the development of myelin - the protective coating that allows nerve cells to communicate rapidly and efficiently.

30 Apr 2026

Antibiotic minocycline shows potential for treating panic disorder symptoms

A study supported by FAPESP shows that small doses of the antibiotic minocycline may help treat panic disorder.

30 Apr 2026

Baby teeth show when metal exposure may affect brain development

The study identifies critical windows of metal exposure via baby teeth, revealing impacts on brain development and behavior in children and adolescents.

30 Apr 2026

Single-cell sequencing reveals why some CAR-T therapies succeed while others fail

Single-cell RNA sequencing is giving researchers a clearer view of why some CAR-T cells persist, expand, kill tumors effectively, or become exhausted. The review synthesizes 44 clinical scRNA-seq studies involving 500 patients and highlights how exhaustion, memory, cytotoxicity, clonal diversity, and metabolism may shape CAR-T responses.

30 Apr 2026

New brain stimulation technique improves social communication in children with autism

A new non-invasive brain stimulation technique known as accelerated continuous theta burst stimulation (a-cTBS) improves social communication at one month follow up and has a favorable safety profile in children with autism, finds a trial from China published by The BMJ today.

29 Apr 2026

Maternal weight before pregnancy may shape toddlers’ development

A nationwide Korean cohort study of 258,367 mother-child pairs found that maternal pre-pregnancy BMI was associated with developmental delay risk in children aged 18 to 36 months. Children of underweight mothers showed modest early risks that later attenuated, while obesity-related risks persisted across developmental domains.

29 Apr 2026

AHA calls for lifelong brain health strategy to prevent cognitive decline

The AHA scientific statement calls for a life-course approach to brain health that integrates cognitive, emotional, behavioral, vascular, environmental, inflammatory, sleep, microbiome, and social factors. It highlights how early-life exposures, mental health, pollution, chronic inflammation, poor sleep, gut dysbiosis, and socioeconomic adversity may shape brain resilience and later-life cognitive decline.

29 Apr 2026

Researchers use light-activated nanozymes to treat aggressive brain tumors

Brain tumors cannot always be successfully treated with conventional therapies. A team from Empa and the hospital network HOCH Health Ostschweiz is therefore developing nanozymes that can attack cancer cells directly in the brain during tumor surgery.

29 Apr 2026

Oxidative stress in aging brain inhibits essential enzymes

Researchers at the Leibniz Institute on Aging - Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI) in Jena found that oxidative stress in the aging brain inhibits the activity of deubiquitylases.

29 Apr 2026

Nerve fibers within melanomas found to slow tumor growth

Nerve fibers within melanomas can slow the growth of these tumors, according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

29 Apr 2026

EVIDENT announces 6th annual Image of the Year Award winners

Evident unveiled the winners of its sixth annual Image of the Year contest, an awards competition that recognizes the world’s best in scientific microscopic imaging.

From Evident Corporation - Life Sciences 29 Apr 2026

Teen cannabis use alters brain development and raises addiction risk

A systematic review reveals adolescent cannabis use alters brain structure, elevates addiction risk, and impacts cognitive outcomes during critical development.

29 Apr 2026

Study reframes ADHD as disorder of energy regulation

The number of people in Europe diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has continued to rise steadily, not only among children, but increasingly among adults and women.

28 Apr 2026

UIC researchers develop anti-cancer therapy inspired by bacteria in tumors

Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have developed an anti-cancer therapy inspired by bacteria found in cancer tumors.

28 Apr 2026

Prenatal air pollution exposure linked to delayed toddler development

Babies exposed to high amounts of air pollution in the womb show slower signs of development at 18 months than those exposed to lower levels.

28 Apr 2026

New AI models quickly find compounds that target Lyme bacteria

Tufts University researchers are using AI and machine learning to more quickly identify potential narrow-spectrum antibiotics to prevent and treat Lyme disease, thanks to a generous gift from an alumnus that sped up their timeline by two to three years.

28 Apr 2026