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New research on brain and fear may help PTSD victims

The brain is a complex system made of billions of neurons and thousands of connections that relate to every human feeling, including one of the strongest emotions, fear. Most neurological fear studies have been rooted in fear-conditioning experiments. Now, University of Missouri researchers have started using computational models of the brain, making it easier to study the brain's connections.

1 Oct 2009

Latest optical and laser technology in medicine displayed at FiO meeting

From scopes that help premature babies breathe to techniques for imaging live neurons and beating hearts as they develop, the latest optical and laser technology being deployed in medicine and the biosciences will be on display at the Optical Society's (OSA) Annual Meeting, Frontiers in Optics (FiO), which takes place Oct. 11-15 at the Fairmont San Jose Hotel and the Sainte Claire Hotel in San Jose, Calif.

1 Oct 2009

Researchers identify embryonic origin of Merkel cells

Publication in Journal of Cell Biology : researchers from ULB (IRIBHM) identify the embryonic origin of Merkel cells. Their research continue on an extremely aggressive cancer, the Merkel cell carcinoma

30 Sep 2009

Defects in original version of Neuron 6F 070 delivery catheter: Penumbra initiates voluntary field removal

Penumbra is initiating a voluntary Field Removal of the original version of Neuron 6F 070 Delivery Catheter. For these catheters, Penumbra has received feedback from some users that the catheter could kink or ovalize in certain anatomical situations.

30 Sep 2009

Jean-Pol Tassin honored with the ECNP Neuropsychopharmacology Award

The European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) is pleased to announce Jean-Pol Tassin as the recipient of the 2009 ECNP Neuropsychopharmacology Award in Basic Science Research in recognition of his pioneering and innovative research into the neurochemical basis of substance addiction.

24 Sep 2009

Merck, QIAGEN to collaborate to increase access to HPV vaccination and HPV DNA testing in developing countries

Merck & Co., Inc. and QIAGEN N.V. today announced their intent to collaborate on a new program to increase access to HPV vaccination and HPV DNA testing in some of the most resource-poor areas of the world.

From QIAGEN Manchester Limited 24 Sep 2009

How the human brain processes incoming sensory signals amidst background noise

The brain never sits idle. Whether we are awake or asleep, watch TV or close our eyes, waves of spontaneous nerve signals wash through our brains. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies studying visual attention have discovered a novel mechanism that explains how incoming sensory signals make themselves heard amidst the constant background rumblings so they can be reliably processed and passed on.

24 Sep 2009

DISC1 linked to proper development and migration of neurons in the brain

Scientists now have a better understanding of a perplexing gene that is associated with susceptibility for a wide spectrum of severely debilitating mental illnesses. Two independent research studies published by Cell Press in the September 24th issue of the journal Neuron provide fascinating insight into the molecular mechanisms that link disrupted-in-schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) with the proper development and migration of neurons in the hippocampus, a brain area involved in learning and memory and associated with the pathology of schizophrenia.

24 Sep 2009

Winner of the 2009 ECNP Neuropsychopharmacology Award

23 Sep 2009

Molecule responsible for neuronal branches identifed

The human brain consists of about 100 billion (1011) neurons, which altogether form about 100 trillion (1014) synaptic connections with each other. A crucial mechanism for the generation of this complex wiring pattern is the formation of neuronal branches. The neurobiologists Dr. Hannes Schmidt and Professor Fritz G. Rathjen at the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany, have now discovered a molecule that regulates this vital process. At the same time they have succeeded in elucidating the signaling cascade induced by this molecule (PNAS, Early Edition, 2009, doi:10.1073).

22 Sep 2009

Neurodegenerative disorders are the second-leading cause of early-onset dementia, says report

Neurodegenerative disorders called frontotemporal dementias (FTD) are the second-leading cause of early-onset dementia in persons under age 65 and can emerge sometimes as early as age 20.

21 Sep 2009

Researchers link plasticity related gene-1 to lipid phosphates

In mice that are missing a protein found only in the brain, neural signals "go crazy," leaving the animals with epileptic seizures from a young age, researchers have found. The report in the September 18th Cell, a Cell Press publication, details what it is that happens when the protein encoded by plasticity related gene-1 (PRG-1) gets lost, revealing an important fine-tuning mechanism for brain function.

18 Sep 2009

Molecular link between intelligence and curiosity discovered

Scientists from the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto have discovered a molecular link between intelligence and curiosity, which may lead to the development of drugs to improve learning.

17 Sep 2009

UJI's current research study on early detection of Alzheimer's Disease using fMRI

The Universitat Jaume I (UJI) of Castelló is working on the early detection of Alzheimer's Disease by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques. The study is being carried out within the framework of a national project called MIND, which approaches Alzheimer's disease from a multidisciplinary perspective and involves twelve biomedicine companies and the corresponding public research organisations associated with them.

16 Sep 2009

Study describes neuron's two-layer integration model

A new Northwestern University study provides evidence that supports the "two-layer integration model," one of several competing models attempting to explain how neurons integrate synaptic inputs. The findings are published in the journal Neuron.

15 Sep 2009

WillWalk to raise funds for human stem cell trials for people with SCI

WillWalk, an Austin based non-profit organization has committed itself to be at the forefront of ending Paralysis. WillWalk will raise $3 million to help fund the first non-controversial human stem cell trials for people with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI).

14 Sep 2009

TrKA and CCM2 combination results in pediatric tumour regression

Why are some pediatric cancers able to spontaneously regress? Prof. Michael Fainzilber and his team of the Weizmann Institute's Biological Chemistry Department seem to have unexpectedly found part of the answer. Further research towards a better understanding of the mechanism of action might hopefully lead, in the future, to the development of drugs that will be able to induce regression of certain tumors.

10 Sep 2009

Capsule launches new Enterprise Medical Device Connectivity Solution

Capsule (www.capsuletech.com), the leading provider of medical device connectivity, today announces the release of their new Enterprise Medical Device Connectivity Solution enabled by the Capsule Neuron™.

10 Sep 2009

Merck's GARDASIL receives approval from FDA Advisory Committee

Merck & Co., Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee agreed that efficacy, immunogenicity and safety data from clinical trials in males support the use of GARDASIL® [Human Papillomavirus Quadrivalent (Types 6, 11, 16 and 18) Vaccine, Recombinant] in boys and men 9 through 26 years of age for the prevention of genital warts caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6 and 11.

10 Sep 2009

Researchers study the brain activity using magnetic resonance imaging

A woman looks familiar, but you can't remember her name or where you met her. New research by UC Irvine neuroscientists suggests the memory exists - you simply can't retrieve it.

10 Sep 2009