Synapse News and Research

RSS

Scientists uncover a central process in memory encoding

Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have made a major discovery in how the brain encodes memories. The finding, published in the December 24 issue of the journal Neuron, could eventually lead to the development of new drugs to aid memory.

24 Dec 2009

Gene's role in immune system may suggest new treatments for childhood asthma

Pediatric researchers have identified a novel gene involved in childhood asthma, in one of the largest gene studies to date of the common respiratory disease. Because the gene, called DENND1B, affects cells and signaling molecules thought to be instrumental in the immune system overreaction that occurs in asthma, the discovery may have singled out an important target for new treatments.

23 Dec 2009

Study provides new insight on teens’ addiction to drug abuse

It is common knowledge that smoking is a health risk but why do teens become addicted to smoking more easily than adults? In an evaluation for Faculty of 1000 Biology, Neil Grunberg looks into why adolescents are more prone to substance abuse.

14 Dec 2009

microRNA-206 plays crucial role in the progression of ALS

miRagen Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on improving patients' lives by developing innovative microRNA-based therapeutics for cardiovascular and muscle disease, today announced the publication of data demonstrating that microRNA-206 (miR-206) plays a crucial role in the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) and in neuromuscular synaptic regeneration in mice.

11 Dec 2009

BHR Pharma files an IND for its BHR-100 intravenous progesterone infusion product

BHR Pharma, LLC (BHR) announced today that it has filed an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its proprietary BHR-100 intravenous progesterone infusion product.

8 Dec 2009

Study explores brain's rewiring processes during motor learning

New connections begin to form between brain cells almost immediately as animals learn a new task, according to a study published this week in Nature. Led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, the study involved detailed observations of the rewiring processes that take place in the brain during motor learning.

30 Nov 2009

UT Southwestern Medical Center to offer NeuRx Diaphragm Pacing System implantation

Physicians at UT Southwestern Medical Center soon will begin implanting a new device designed to improve breathing in patients with upper spinal-cord injuries or other diseases that keep them from breathing independently.

26 Nov 2009

Alzheimer Research Forum reports on the highlights of the Society of Neuroscience conference

Between 17-21 October 2009, the 39th annual conference of the Society of Neuroscience drew some 30,500 people to the great city of Chicago, which was more balmy than windy for the occasion. Your Alzforum reporters have been busy roaming the halls, buttonholing scientists for their comments on the presentations, and putting together reports on the most significant advances.

20 Nov 2009

New mathematical model may hasten drug development for Parkinson's Disease

Australian scientists have significantly advanced our understanding of dopamine release from nerve cells, findings that should speed the development of more effective drugs for treating Parkinson's Disease.

19 Nov 2009

IBM led computing team achieves major advances in large-scale cortical simulation

Today at SC 09, the supercomputing conference, IBM announced significant progress toward creating a computer system that simulates and emulates the brain's abilities for sensation, perception, action, interaction and cognition, while rivaling the brain's low power and energy consumption and compact size.

18 Nov 2009

Cytoskeleton plays a critical role to bring chromosome pairs together: Study

Meiosis - the pairing and recombination of chromosomes, followed by segregation of half to each egg or sperm cell - is a major crossroads in all organisms reproducing sexually. Yet, how the cell precisely choreographs these chromosomal interactions is a long-standing question.

16 Nov 2009

Normal synaptic activity in nerve cells protects brain from Huntington's disease

Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham), the University of British Columbia's Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics and the University of California, San Diego have found that normal synaptic activity in nerve cells (the electrical activity in the brain that allows nerve cells to communicate with one another) protects the brain from the misfolded proteins associated with Huntington's disease.

16 Nov 2009

HFSP grant to develop molecular probes to study "cellular GPS" system

An international group of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, Goettingen Medical School in Germany and the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom have received a Human Frontiers Science Program (HFSP) grant to develop molecular probes that will help researchers better understand the "cellular GPS" system that guides neurons to create a properly wired nervous system.

11 Nov 2009

JumpStart announces investment commitment of $250,000 in Checkpoint Surgical

JumpStart Inc., the Northeast Ohio venture development organization that accelerates the progress of high growth early-stage businesses, announced a JumpStart Ventures investment commitment of $250,000 in Checkpoint Surgical, LLC. A spinout of NDI Medical, the Highland Hills, OH medical device company is developing and commercializing a surgical handheld disposable nerve stimulator.

10 Nov 2009

Lipid may be vital to learning

Saturated fats have a deservedly bad reputation, but Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered that a sticky lipid occurring naturally at high levels in the brain may help us memorize grandma's recipe for cinnamon buns, as well as recall how, decades ago, she served them up steaming from the oven.

31 Oct 2009

APP balance critical for normal neuronal development

New data about amyloid precursor protein, or APP, a protein implicated in development of Alzheimer's disease, suggests it also may have a positive role -- directly affecting learning and memory during brain development. So is APP good or bad? Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center say both, and that a balance of APP is critical.

19 Oct 2009

Brain researcher finds how the epilepsy and pain drug works

A Duke University Medical Center researcher who spent years looking for the signals that prompt the brain to form new connections between neurons has found one that may explain precisely how a well-known drug for epilepsy and pain actually works.

14 Oct 2009

Mechanism by which gene associated with autism and schizophrenia influences behavior identified

A Stanford University School of Medicine researcher has pinpointed the mechanism by which a gene associated with both autism and schizophrenia influences behavior in mice. And just recently, he received a $1.65 million government grant to expand his efforts to include many more such genes.

13 Oct 2009

Scientists make significant advance towards a solution for neuronal repair

The repair of damaged nerve cells is a major problem in medicine today. A new study by researchers at the Montreal NeurologicaI Institute and Hospital (The Neuro) and McGill University, is a significant advance towards a solution for neuronal repair.

8 Oct 2009

New study sheds light on memory formation

A new study from the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (The Neuro) of McGill University reveals that different patterns of training and learning lead to different types of memory formation.

5 Oct 2009