Neurons News and Research

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Mitochondrial DNA 'Jumps' to Chromosomes, Potentially Impacting Lifespan

As direct descendants of ancient bacteria, mitochondria have always been a little alien.

23 Aug 2024

The Complex Link Between DNA Modification and ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease which remains incurable. The disease is characterized by the selective degeneration of upper motor neurons in the motor cortex as well as the lower motor neurons in the brainstem and spinal cord. The cause of ALS remains unknown in 90 percent of cases, which are referred to as sporadic ALS because there is no family history for the disease. Cumulative evidence suggests that sporadic ALS may result from complex interactions between genetic susceptibility and aging.

23 Aug 2024

Enzyme Therapy Shows Promise for Parkinson's Disease

A preclinical investigation conducted by Weill Cornell Medicine researchers has shown an unexpectedly important role for an enzyme called PGK1 in the synthesis of chemical energy in brain cells.

22 Aug 2024

Revealing Neural Basis of Categorizing and Remembering Novel Information

Scientists at the University of California, Irvine have pinpointed the brain cells involved in remembering specific details of events.

22 Aug 2024

New AI Tool Predicts Protein Behavior in Cellular Context

A fish on land can still wave its fins, but the outcomes are very different when the creature is in water. The comparison, attributed to prominent computer scientist Alan Kay, is used to demonstrate the importance of context in clarifying research issues.

19 Aug 2024

Electrical Recordings Illuminate Neural Basis of Inferential Reasoning

It takes brains to infer how any two things in the world relate to each other, whether it's the way bad weather links to commuting delays or how environmental conditions lead to the evolution of species.

16 Aug 2024

New Imaging Technique Offers Clearer View of Brain Function

Researchers have developed a new two-photon fluorescence microscope that captures high-speed images of neural activity at cellular resolution. By imaging much faster and with less harm to brain tissue than traditional two-photon microscopy, the new approach could provide a clearer view of how neurons communicate in real time, leading to new insights into brain function and neurological diseases.

16 Aug 2024

New Insights into Memory Formation and Modification

The ability to turn experiences into memories allows us to learn from the past and use what we learned as a model to respond appropriately to new situations. For this reason, as the world around us changes, this memory model cannot simply be a fixed archive of the good old days.

16 Aug 2024

Spontaneous Brain Activity Drives Early Neural Circuit Formation

In humans, the process of learning is driven by different groups of cells in the brain firing together. For instance, when the neurons associated with the process of recognizing a dog begin to fire in a coordinated manner in response to the cells that encode the features of a dog -; four legs, fur, a tail, etc. -; a young child will eventually be able to identify dogs going forward. But brain wiring begins before humans are born, before they have experiences or senses like sight to guide this cellular circuitry. How does that happen?

16 Aug 2024

Astrocytes Emerge as Key Players in Brain Health and Development

Researchers at the Mechanobiology Institute (MBI) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Duke-NUS Medical School have uncovered a novel mechanism for reawakening dormant neural stem cells, which may lead to the development of new treatments for neurodevelopmental disorders like autism, cerebral palsy, and learning disabilities.

14 Aug 2024

Lipid Accumulation Linked to Senescence in Dopaminergic Neurons

A new research perspective was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science), Volume 16, Issue 14 on July 19, 2024, entitled, "Lipid accumulation drives cellular senescence in dopaminergic neurons."

14 Aug 2024

Deep-Learning Model Identifies Parkinson's Disease-Specific Neuroanatomical Features

A deep-learning-based contrastive approach to examine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans from Parkinson’s disease patients.

14 Aug 2024

Brain's Co-Rippling Activity Sheds Light on Consciousness

For many years, researchers have been concentrating on how the brain organizes information into hierarchical structures, with distinct regions of the brain designated for distinct functions.

13 Aug 2024

Noninvasive Ultrasound Method Enables Tracking of Gene Expression in Specific Brain Regions

The ability to alter or prevent the expression of faulty genes in the brain could be leveraged as a powerful therapeutic against neurodegenerative disease. However, the molecular underpinnings of the living brain are still largely inaccessible, hampering progress on such promising therapeutics.

9 Aug 2024

Researchers Uncover Method to Boost Stem Cell Production Using Interferon Gamma

Researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) have discovered a treatment which accelerates the production and quality of pluripotent stem cells in mice.

8 Aug 2024

Single-Cell Analysis Uncovers Impact of TREM2 Mutation on Beta-Amyloid Plaques

Researchers led by the University of California, Irvine have discovered how the TREM2 R47H genetic mutation causes certain brain areas to develop abnormal protein clumps, called beta-amyloid plaques, associated with late-onset Alzheimer's disease.

8 Aug 2024

The Importance of Antioxidant Therapy in Preventing Parkinson's Disease

The neurodegenerative condition known as Parkinson's disease is caused by the death of neurons that generate dopamine, a neurotransmitter essential for both motor control and cognitive function.

6 Aug 2024

Breakthrough Method Captures Aging Impact on Alzheimer’s Disease in Lab-Grown Neurons

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a way to capture the effects of aging in the development of Alzheimer's disease.

2 Aug 2024

Cryo-EM Reveals Structural Differences in Fetal and Adult Muscle Receptors

The connections between the nervous system and muscles develop differently across the kingdom of life. It takes newborn humans roughly a year to develop the proper muscular systems that support the ability to walk, while cows can walk mere minutes after birth and run not long after.

1 Aug 2024

New Model Reveals Underlying Similarity in Mammalian Brain Shapes

A novel method for characterizing the cerebral cortex's shape has been devised by researchers, who also present evidence that cortices in all mammalian species share a common, fractal design.

31 Jul 2024