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.

Maternal use of cosmetics containing parabens tied to child's future overweight

Parabens are used as preservatives in cosmetics. If pregnant women use cosmetics containing parabens that remain on the skin for protracted periods, this may have consequences for their child's subsequent weight development.

13 Feb 2020

Common human gene variant linked to THC reward in adolescent females

A common variation in a human gene that affects the brain's reward processing circuit increases vulnerability to the rewarding effects of the main psychoactive ingredient of cannabis in adolescent females, but not males, according to preclinical research by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

12 Feb 2020

AAN issues new guideline for sleep problems in children and teens with autism

It is not uncommon for children and teens with autism spectrum disorder to struggle with sleep. Trouble falling asleep and staying asleep or refusing to go to bed are just some of the sleep problems they can experience.

12 Feb 2020

Minigenes produced by CRISPR combat liver disease in mice

A new gene-editing technique based on CRISPR was used to successfully avoid the development of a liver disease that can be caused by hundreds of mutations, as well as to ease the symptoms in mice. This proof-of-concept study was published online in the journal Science Advances in February 2020.

12 Feb 2020

Yale scientists enlist most unlikely ally in efforts to treat glioblastoma

Glioblastomas are relentless, hard-to-treat, and often lethal brain tumors. Yale scientists have enlisted a most unlikely ally in efforts to treat this form of cancer -- elements of the Ebola virus.

12 Feb 2020

New study provides clear picture of brain abnormalities associated with schizophrenia

What if the key to a better understanding of schizophrenia has been here all along--but researchers haven't had the resources to study it?

12 Feb 2020

Gut bacteria composition and diversity linked to human personality traits

Dr. Katerina Johnson, who conducted her Ph.D. in the University's Department of Experimental Psychology, was researching the science of that 'gut feeling' - the relationship between the bacteria living in the gut (the gut microbiome) and behavioral traits.

12 Feb 2020

Gum disease linked to stroke

A pair of new studies has revealed that gum diseases could be associated with a heightened risk of strokes and atherosclerosis of hardening of the arterial walls. The results of this new research are to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2020 between 19th and 21st of February 2020 in Los Angeles.

12 Feb 2020

Researchers engineer probiotics to safely deliver immunotherapies to tumors

Researchers at Columbia Engineering have engineered probiotics to safely deliver immunotherapies within tumors.

12 Feb 2020

New therapeutic compounds could fight against brain-eating amoebae

Brain-eating amoebae can cause particularly harmful forms of encephalitis, and more than 95% of people who develop these rare but devastating infections die.

12 Feb 2020

Poor neuronal connectivity between two brain regions may be predictive of Alzheimer's risk

Late-onset Alzheimer's disease, the one that appears after age 65, is the most common form of this neurodegenerative disease and accounts for more than 90% of cases.

12 Feb 2020

Hyperfine receives FDA 510(k) clearance for world's first bedside MRI system

Hyperfine Research, Inc. announced today that it has received US Food & Drug Administration 510(k) clearance for the world's first bedside Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) system, clearing the way for device shipments this summer.

12 Feb 2020

Study reveals new role for gene associated with autism spectrum disorder

A UCLA-led study reveals a new role for a gene that's associated with autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability and language impairment.

12 Feb 2020

Researchers identify control of a mitochondrial protective mechanism

Mitochondria are known as the "powerhouses" of cells. However, under critical pathophysiological conditions, they can use cellular energy for self-preservation.

12 Feb 2020

Bacterial DNA promotes tau protein misfolding and aggregation, study shows

Researchers from Human Microbiology Institute and Mitchell Center for Alzheimer’s disease at the University of Texas McGovern Medical School in Houston have discovered that bacterial extracellular DNA can trigger Tau protein misfolding into neurotoxic aggregates, a key process in Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis.

12 Feb 2020

Age of puberty in girls the world over becoming lower

A new study on the age of initial breast development as the first sign of puberty in girls shows that over the last 40 years, this has come down by an average of 3 months per decade. The study is published in the journal Pediatrics.

11 Feb 2020

Accumulated brain protein affects genes in Alzheimer's disease

A new study published in February 2020 in the journal Cell Reports shows how the build-up of specific brain cell proteins are linked to altered gene expression that causes the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

11 Feb 2020

Heroin use increasing among American adults

Earlier studies have shown a startling sevenfold increase in illnesses and deaths directly traceable to heroin use in the USA over less than 20 years. Along with this epidemic, HIV and hepatitis infections acquired by injections of drugs have also broken out in large clusters in many places. Yet, the extent of heroin use itself has been neglected. The current study looked at this overlooked area of research.

11 Feb 2020

Marijuana use increases false memories finds study

A new study published this week has revealed that the use of marijuana or cannabis can implant false memories. The study titled, "Cannabis increases susceptibility to false memory," was published in the latest issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

11 Feb 2020

New technique may yield insights on the immune response to intestinal parasite infections

A new technique may help scientists study the body's immune response to intestinal parasite infections one gut cell at a time, according to a study published today in eLife.

11 Feb 2020