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.

Albino Squid Illuminates Cephalopod Brain Activity

A team of researchers at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) has successfully engineered an albino strain of Euprymna berryi, the hummingbird bobtail squid.

21 Jun 2023

First Brain Atlas of Dwarf Cuttlefish

Anything with three hearts, blue blood and skin that can change colors like a display in Times Square is likely to turn heads.

21 Jun 2023

Review: Role of Alternative Splicing Defects in Major Neurodegenerative Diseases

Alternative splicing, a clever way a cell generates many different variations of messenger RNAs -; single-stranded RNAs involved in protein synthesis -; and proteins from the same stretch of DNA, plays an important role in molecular biology.

21 Jun 2023

Neurotransmitter Receptor Patterns Define Key Organizational Principles in the Brain

Receptor patterns define key organizational principles in the brain, scientists have discovered.

20 Jun 2023

Microglial Cells Serve as a Stable Viral Reservoir for Latent HIV

Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV) introduces a copy of its DNA into human immune cells as part of its life cycle. Some of these newly infected immune cells can subsequently enter an inactive, latent state for an extended length of time, which is known as HIV latency.

19 Jun 2023

New Mechanism to Maintain Astrocyte-Neuron Communication

Neurons and astrocytes are the two types of cells required by the brain to enjoy the scent of morning coffee and freshly baked cookies or to discern the warning smell of something burning.

16 Jun 2023

Laxative Prucalopride can Have Important Effects in the Brain Circuits Crucial for Learning and Memory

Cognitive deficits accompany mood disorders and other psychiatric conditions, often with debilitating effects.

14 Jun 2023

Virus Plays Important Role in Treating Glioblastoma

A potential advancement in the treatment of glioblastoma was noted by Howard Colman, MD, PhD, the Jon M. Huntsman Presidential Professor of Neuro-Oncology and co-leader of the Neurologic Cancers Disease Center and the Experimental Therapeutics CCSG program at Huntsman Cancer Institute, in a recently published manuscript.

13 Jun 2023

Achieving 3D Printing Inside 'Mini-Organs' Growing in Hydrogels

Scientists from the NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre (a collaboration between GOSH and UCL), London, and University of Padova, Italy, have shown for the first time how 3D printing can be achieved inside 'mini-organs' growing in hydrogels -- controlling their shape, activity, and even forcing tissue to grow into 'molds.'

12 Jun 2023

The New Player in ALS—An Ancient, Virus-Like Protein

ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is a deadly neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, progressively robbing individuals of their capability to speak, move, eat, and breathe.

8 Jun 2023

Scientists Discover the Mechanisms of Synaptic Pruning in Brain Development

Researchers at Kyushu University have uncovered the mechanisms of a fundamental yet critically under-looked phase in brain development: synaptic pruning.

8 Jun 2023

New Delivery Mechanism Brings Messenger RNA to the Point of Need in Neurons

Brain cells manufacture proteins in every corner, including their long branches. Neurons missing this ability cause severe neurological disorders like disability and epilepsy.

5 Jun 2023

Revealing How Human Brains Encode and Retain Value-Based Information

Researchers from the Center for Cognition and Sociality (CCS) within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) recently announced the discovery of neurons that allow us to recognize others. The research team discovered that the neurons that deal with the information associated with different individuals are located in the CA1 region of the hippocampus.

2 Jun 2023

Large-Scale Phylogenomic Studies Reveal Mysteries of Primate Evolution

Researchers from Zhejiang University, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Northwest University, and Yunnan University, Aarhus University, and BGI-Research have jointly led a series of significant new studies are published in a special issue of the journal Science, and in papers in Nature Ecology & Evolution and Science Advances.

2 Jun 2023

Scientists Integrate Multiple Therapeutic Approaches to More Effectively Target Brain Metastatic Melanomas

Acting as a team, twin stem cells activate the immune system to suppress tumor growth and prolong survival in representative preclinical models.

1 Jun 2023

High-Resolution, Stable Brain Stimulation by Ultraflexible Nanoelectrodes

Conventional implantable medical devices designed for brain stimulation are often too rigid and bulky for what is one of the body's softest and most delicate tissues.

31 May 2023

Characterizing a Pivotal Time in Mammalian Embryonic Development

Many of life’s secrets are hidden in the initial stages of embryonic development. Unraveling these mysteries can aid in the understanding of early development and birth abnormalities, as well as the creation of innovative regenerative medicine treatments.

31 May 2023

Game-Changing Research Shows Astrocytes as Key Regulators of Alzheimer's Disease Progression

Why do some people develop Alzheimer's disease while others don't? And, even more puzzlingly, why do many individuals whose brains are chock-full of toxic amyloid aggregates-;a telltale sign of Alzheimer's brain pathology-;never go on to develop Alzheimer's-associated dementias?

30 May 2023

Risk-Taking Behavior Increases After Unexpected Wins in Both Humans and Monkeys

How do humans make decisions when the outcomes are uncertain? One possible way would be to calculate the expected value of each option by multiplying each possible outcome amount by its probability and then choosing the option with the highest expected value.

29 May 2023

Study Explores a Brain Region Used by Migratory Birds to Perceive Earth’s Magnetic Field

Earth's magnetic field, generated by the flow of molten iron in the planet's inner core, extends out into space and protects us from cosmic radiation emitted by the Sun.

29 May 2023