Neuropeptide News and Research

RSS

Fruit fly provides insight into controlling carbs and fat

Incretins are hormones secreted by intestinal cells that regulate pancreatic insulin and glucagon to control sugar metabolism in mammals.

19 Aug 2021

Researchers figure out how to build an artificial brain from the bottom up

Rice University scientists are starting small as they begin to figure out how to build an artificial brain from the bottom up.

29 Jun 2021

Researchers identify specific cells and proteins that control the sneeze reflex

A tickle in the nose can help trigger a sneeze, expelling irritants and disease-causing pathogens. But the cellular pathways that control the sneeze reflex go far beyond the sinuses and have been poorly understood.

16 Jun 2021

Vagus nerve stimulation may be a potential adjunct therapy for COVID-19

COVID-19 was initially described as lung inflammation, or pneumonia, in older adults. However, we now know that SARS-CoV-2 infections can cause a wide range of symptoms in people of all ages, ranging from no symptoms at all to systemic inflammation and even death.

27 May 2021

Oxytocin-vasopressin circuit has distinct dynamics throughout embryonic development

The work, carried out by Pilar Madrigal and Sandra Jurado, from the UMH-CSIC Neurosciences Institute in Alicante, a joint center of the Spanish National Research Council and Miguel Hernández University, has been published in Communications Biology, a Nature group´s journal.

22 May 2021

Genetic mutation associated with autism can impair oxytocin-mediated social behavior

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental condition involving impaired social abilities, and this makes it a fascinating subject for neuroscientists like Prof. Teiichi Furuichi of the Tokyo University of Science who study the neuroscience of social behavior.

19 May 2021

Girls more likely to develop metabolic alterations associated with obesity than boys

A study of 92 adolescents conducted in Brazil suggests girls are more likely than boys to develop metabolic alterations associated with obesity, such as high blood pressure and excessive blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides (dyslipidemia).

12 May 2021

Scientists receive the Brain Prize for groundbreaking contributions to novel migraine therapies

The Brain Prize has been awarded to Michael A. Moskowitz, M.D., a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, who also is supported by an NIH grant.

8 Mar 2021

NYU Oral Cancer Center receives $3.1 million grant to explore the interplay between nerves and cancer

NYU Oral Cancer Center has been awarded a five-year, $3.1 million grant (R01 CA231396) by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

1 Mar 2021

New method helps study the effects of receptor clustering in living cells

Our body consists of 100 trillion cells that communicate with each other, receive signals from the outside world and react to them.

26 Feb 2021

Biodegradable microcapsules loaded with nerve growth factor can guide neuronal development

Researchers from Skoltech and their colleagues have demonstrated that nanoengineered biodegradable microcapsules can guide the development of hippocampal neurons in an in vitro experiment.

16 Feb 2021

New study reveals that daytime naps are partly regulated by genes

How often a person takes daytime naps, if at all, is partly regulated by their genes, according to new research led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and published in Nature Communications.

11 Feb 2021

New strategy to optimize the efficacy of neuropeptides for therapeutic applications

Dimerization (Note: combination of two identical or different molecules) of the human neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin can produce new types of bioactive molecules.

10 Feb 2021

Scientists decipher the molecular blueprint for important receptor

In order for a drug to be effective at the right places in the body, it helps if scientists can predict as accurately as possible how the molecules of that drug will interact with human cells.

10 Feb 2021

Study shows neuropeptide corazonin regulates the release of diapause hormone in silkworms

Diapause is a seasonal adaptation strategy of insects and animals where biological functions are put on hold, such as insect eggs that remain dormant until conditions are more favorable to hatch.

21 Dec 2020

Scientists shed light on how neurons form long-term memories

On a late summer day in 1953, a young man who would soon be known as patient H.M. underwent experimental surgery. In an attempt to treat his debilitating seizures, a surgeon removed portions of his brain, including part of a structure called the hippocampus. The seizures stopped.

9 Dec 2020

UVA research sheds light on how baby’s first breath triggers lifelong changes in breathing systems

There are few moments in life as precious, as critical and as celebrated as baby’s first breath. New research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine sheds light on the lifelong changes in breathing systems that occur precisely with that first breath – and may offer important insights into Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

4 Dec 2020

Researchers show how allergens are detected by the immune system

A key step in the immune system's response to allergens has been uncovered by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

30 Oct 2020

Keto diet could be beneficial for elderly COVID-19 patients

A recent study by researchers at Yale School of Medicine, New York University Langone Health and Washington University School of Medicine, claims that the ketogenic diet (high fat, low carbohydrate diet) is capable of mitigating clinical outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in elderly people by improving immune-metabolic functions and reducing inflammation. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

14 Sep 2020

Antibiotic treatment in early life impedes development of 'social brain' in mice

Antibiotic treatment in early life impedes brain signalling pathways that function in social behaviour and pain regulation in mice, a new study by Dr Katerina Johnson and Dr Philip Burnet has found. It was published today in BMC Neuroscience.

22 Jul 2020