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.

Research shows how loss of de-N-glycosylation enzyme causes detrimental effects

Peptide: N-glycanase (NGLY1) is an evolutionarily conserved enzyme for removing N-linked glycans (N-glycans) from glycoproteins and is involved in proteostasis of N-glycoproteins in the cytosol. In 2012, a rare genetic disorder called NGLY1 deficiency was discovered by an exome analysis.

7 Jul 2021

Mindfulness-based therapy could be a viable treatment for insomnia

Sleep problems are common in the general population with up to half of Singaporean adults reporting insufficient or unsatisfying sleep. Sleep quality tends to worsen with age and poor sleep is a modifiable risk factor for multiple disorders, including cardiovascular disease and cognitive impairment.

7 Jul 2021

Adults with ADHD at higher risk of many physical conditions, finds study

Adults with ADHD are at higher risk of a wide range of physical conditions, including nervous system, respiratory, musculoskeletal, and metabolic diseases, according to a large register-based study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in The Lancet Psychiatry.

7 Jul 2021

Study reveals the brain activity that underlies superagers' superior memory

As we age, our brains typically undergo a slow process of atrophy, causing less robust communication between various brain regions, which leads to declining memory and other cognitive functions. But a rare group of older individuals called "superagers" have been shown to learn and recall novel information as well as a 25-year-old.

7 Jul 2021

Doctors advise against off-label use of new Alzheimer's medicine for cerebral amyloid angiopathy

A novel therapy recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for patients with Alzheimer's disease amid considerable controversy should not be prescribed by physicians off-label for cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), a similar cerebrovascular condition, according to Steven Greenberg, MD, PhD, director of the Hemorrhagic Stroke Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and president of the International Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy Association (ICAAA).

7 Jul 2021

Digital technologies amplify the ability to detect subtle differences in cognitive function tests

During neuropsychological assessments, participants complete tasks designed to study memory and thinking. Based on their performance, the participants receive a score that researchers use to evaluate how well specific domains of their cognition are functioning.

6 Jul 2021

Study: TBI doesn't necessarily lead to an increased risk of marital instability

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has a major impact on the lives of affected patients and families. But it doesn't necessarily lead to an increased risk of marital instability, as two-thirds of patients with TBI are still married to the same partner 10 years after their injury, reports a study in the July/August issue of the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation.

6 Jul 2021

Falls are the most frequent causes of traumatic brain injury in older adults, shows study

The study is the first on epidemiology and causes of traumatic brain injury in over 20 years. The research team reports in the journal BMJ Open of 4 June 2021.

6 Jul 2021

22 blood plasma lipids found to be associated with lower symptom improvement in schizophrenia

Researchers from Skoltech and the Mental Health Research Center have found 22 lipids in the blood plasma of people with schizophrenia that were associated with lower symptom improvement over time during treatment.

6 Jul 2021

Scientists discover pathway that sheds new light on brain damage-induced cell division

Most human cells are able to repair damage by dividing at wounds.

6 Jul 2021

Brain cells snap DNA strands in numerous locations to make memories

The urgency to remember a dangerous experience requires the brain to make a series of potentially dangerous moves: Neurons and other brain cells snap open their DNA in numerous locations--more than previously realized, according to a new study--to provide quick access to genetic instructions for the mechanisms of memory storage.

6 Jul 2021

Metabolomics lab analysis reveals large nutritional differences between near-meat and meat

Plant-based meat substitutes taste and chew remarkably similar to real beef, and the 13 items listed on their nutrition labels - vitamins, fats and protein -- make them seem essentially equivalent.

6 Jul 2021

Eight new research projects to explore COVID-19 variants of concern in Canada

Eight new research projects are getting underway in Canada to investigate COVID-19 variants of concern (VOCs) and variants of interest (VOIs).

6 Jul 2021

New blood test for improved frontotemporal dementia diagnostics

A new study by researchers at the University of Eastern Finland shows for the first time that blood-based measurement of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) enables distinguishing patients with frontotemporal dementia from those with primary psychiatric disorders or healthy individuals.

6 Jul 2021

New method expands view into activity of single cells

Researchers have devised a way to multiply by more than ten-fold the accessible details of gene activity in individual cells. It's a big leap in the effort to understand cancer development, brain function, immunity and other biological processes driven by the complex interactions of multitudes of different cell types.

6 Jul 2021

Castration of male sheep slows DNA aging

Most of us are familiar with the fact that women live longer than men. But fellas, if we told you there was one thing that could be done to increase your lifespan, would you do it?

6 Jul 2021

Study explores the effects of SARS-CoV-2 (and other betacoronaviruses) on cellular mRNA processing

A new study has been released on the bioRxiv* preprint server, which deals with a comprehensive survey on alternative splicing concerning SARS-CoV-2 infection. This study has also included two other betacoronavirurses (SARS-CoV and MERS), a control set of unrelated viruses, and a bacterium, namely, Streptococcus pneumonia. The study findings suggest that several cellular parameters are affected owing to a betacoronavirus infection, which in turn affects some genes and invariably various biological functions.

6 Jul 2021

School-based mindfulness improves sleep quality in children

A new study exploring the benefits of mindfulness showed that children slept 74 minutes more on average after starting basic mindfulness exercises at school.

6 Jul 2021

CRISPRa identifies potassium channels as neuronal entry factors and druggable targets for SARS-CoV-2

New research led by Le Cong of Stanford University School of Medicine in California indicates that the KCNA6 potassium channel may help with viral entry and promote infection. In addition, KCNA6 is highly expressed in OLIG2+ neuronal cells, which has been shown to be suspectable to SARS-CoV-2 in the olfactory neuroepithelium. This area appears to contribute to loss of smell commonly observed during infection.

6 Jul 2021

Nanomaterials' physiochemical properties influence their ability to penetrate the blood brain barrier

Nanomaterials found in consumer and health-care products can pass from the bloodstream to the brain side of a blood-brain barrier model with varying ease depending on their shape - creating potential neurological impacts that could be both positive and negative, a new study reveals.

5 Jul 2021

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Research shows how loss of de-N-glycosylation enzyme causes detrimental effects

Mindfulness-based therapy could be a viable treatment for insomnia

Adults with ADHD at higher risk of many physical conditions, finds study

Study reveals the brain activity that underlies superagers' superior memory

Doctors advise against off-label use of new Alzheimer's medicine for cerebral amyloid angiopathy

Digital technologies amplify the ability to detect subtle differences in cognitive function tests

Study: TBI doesn't necessarily lead to an increased risk of marital instability

Falls are the most frequent causes of traumatic brain injury in older adults, shows study

22 blood plasma lipids found to be associated with lower symptom improvement in schizophrenia

Scientists discover pathway that sheds new light on brain damage-induced cell division

Brain cells snap DNA strands in numerous locations to make memories

Metabolomics lab analysis reveals large nutritional differences between near-meat and meat

Eight new research projects to explore COVID-19 variants of concern in Canada

New blood test for improved frontotemporal dementia diagnostics

New method expands view into activity of single cells

Castration of male sheep slows DNA aging

Study explores the effects of SARS-CoV-2 (and other betacoronaviruses) on cellular mRNA processing

School-based mindfulness improves sleep quality in children

CRISPRa identifies potassium channels as neuronal entry factors and druggable targets for SARS-CoV-2

Nanomaterials' physiochemical properties influence their ability to penetrate the blood brain barrier

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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