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.

Researchers discover neural progenitor cells in the optic nerve

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have for the first time identified stem cells in the region of the optic nerve, which transmits signals from the eye to the brain.

30 Jul 2020

Novel risk score developed to predict cardiac arrest patient outcomes

Experts have developed a risk score to predict cardiac arrest patient outcomes.

30 Jul 2020

Dream "hacking" with a novel device

A new study from American researchers shows that if dreams can be manipulated, memory could be enhanced and consolidated. The team tried a process called "dream incubation" using a device called Dormio in subjects for their study and published their novel findings.

30 Jul 2020

Scientists develop a blood test that can spot Alzheimer's disease early

Alzheimer's disease is an irreversible neurodegenerative disease, and there is still no way to treat it. Many cases of the condition are diagnosed when the disease has already progressed, making it difficult to manage. Now, researchers have developed a new test that can spot Alzheimer's disease early on.

30 Jul 2020

Study shows how chronic psychological stress leads to sickle cell crises

A new study shows how chronic psychological stress leads to painful vessel-clogging episodes--the most common complication of sickle-cell disease (SCD) and a frequent cause of hospitalizations.

30 Jul 2020

Study suggests new approach to make radiation therapy more effective for glioblastoma patients

Many modern cancer drugs target a specific genetic mutation that is driving a particular cancer's runaway growth and division -- such as the HER-2 protein in some breast cancers or EGFR in certain lung cancers.

30 Jul 2020

Deep neural networks to identify pneumonia caused by COVID-19 in CT scans

As COVID-19 cases in the United States continue to surge, there is an ongoing search for quick and reliable testing.

30 Jul 2020

Mice born with Fragile X syndrome have fewer cell antennas

Structures called primary cilia - which act like TV antennas for cells to detect signals - are present in fewer numbers in mice born with Fragile X syndrome, according to researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

30 Jul 2020

Missourians to vote on Medicaid expansion as crisis leaves millions without insurance

Haley Organ thought she had everything figured out. After graduating from a small private college just outside Boston, she earned her master's degree, entered the workforce and eventually landed a corporate job here as a data analyst.

30 Jul 2020

First 3D multicellular brain organoid can screen drugs to control inflammation

The scientists who developed the first 3D multicellular brain organoid with a functional blood brain barrier now report that the model could be a promising platform to screen drugs that could work to control inflammation, which is at the center of many neurological conditions, like ischemic stroke.

30 Jul 2020

Loss of smell in COVID-19 explained by scientists

Now, a team of researchers at Harvard Medical school says they have found the reason why some people who get COVID-19 experience loss of smell.

29 Jul 2020

New approach shows promise for treating shoulder pain in wheelchair users with spinal cord injury

Researchers in regenerative rehabilitation conducted a pilot study of a new approach to the treatment of treatment-resistant shoulder pain in wheelchair users with spinal cord injury (SCI) and rotator cuff disease.

29 Jul 2020

UC San Diego researchers part of special package of human genome studies

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine are among the contributors to a package of 10 studies, published July 29, 2020 in the journal Nature, describing the latest results from the ongoing Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project, a worldwide effort led by the National Institutes of Health to understand how the human genome functions.

29 Jul 2020

Pimavanserin reduced psychotic symptoms in people with dementia in phase 3 study

A large-scale trial has found a treatment with pimavanserin substantially reduced psychotic symptoms and reduced risk of relapse of those symptoms compared to placebo in people with dementia, a condition for which no treatments are currently licensed.

29 Jul 2020

New maps of chemical marks on DNA could help illuminate the causes of developmental disorders

In research that aims to illuminate the causes of human developmental disorders, Salk scientists have generated 168 new maps of chemical marks on strands of DNA--called methylation--in developing mice.

29 Jul 2020

Study explains the mechanisms used by human brain to recognize specific smells

However, this precision only concerns the first "door" for the odors' recognition, namely the nose. But something changes when the information collected and processed by the nose arrives in a more central structure of the brain, called the olfactory cortex.

29 Jul 2020

New study shows the mechanism of brain to recognize specific smells

An Italian-American research conducted by researchers at the IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (Italian Institute of Technology) in Rovereto (Italy) and Harvard University in Boston (Usa) explains for the first time the mechanisms used by our brain to recognize specific smells.

29 Jul 2020

Scientists are developing AI tools that can benefit certain cancer patients

Case Western Reserve University scientists are developing artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help surgeons and oncologists identify the subtle but critical differences between a recurring tumor and damaged non-cancerous tissue on post-operative MRI scans of certain cancer patients.

29 Jul 2020

New method can detect small amounts of protein fragment linked to Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a technique to detect minute amounts of a protein fragment linked to Alzheimer's disease in the blood.

29 Jul 2020

Sniffer dogs detect COVID-19 infections with 94 percent accuracy

Dogs have an acute sense of smell. They have up to 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses, compared to six million in humans, making their smell receptors up 10,000 to 100,000 more powerful than humans.

28 Jul 2020