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.

Gut microbiome’s influence on how lifestyle affects dementia risk

A recent Baycrest study points to the possibility that the gut microbiome influences how nutrition and exercise impact brain health and dementia risk. Physicians and researchers could be able to improve dementia prevention efforts with the use of this knowledge.

13 Oct 2022

Nonconducting W434F mutant varies in structure and conformation

Potassium (K+) channels are tiny, highly specialized conduits found in every live cell that transfer K+ ions in an exceedingly selective and quick manner across cell membranes.

13 Oct 2022

A more efficient way to deliver gene therapies to the CNS

For gene therapy, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) poses a formidable obstacle. The BBB, which is made up of cells that are closely packed together, prevents poisons and pathogens from accessing brain tissue while also blocking potential treatments for diseases that impact the CNS.

12 Oct 2022

Distinct roles of aging and genetics on expression phenotypes

Research conducted by the University of California, Berkeley, found that individual distinctions in human DNA matter less as people age and become more susceptible to aging disorders like diabetes and cancer.

10 Oct 2022

Broadening the scope of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing systems

A group of Northwestern University researchers has created a novel gene editing platform that might influence the future application of a nearly infinite library of CRISPR-based therapeutics.

7 Oct 2022

Spores integrate environmental signals over time

When exposed to starvation and stress, certain bacteria enter a dormant state in which life functions cease. These cells, known as spores, can resist punishing extremes of heat, pressure, and even the extreme conditions of outer space by entering a profound hibernation.

7 Oct 2022

Interactional closeness with a dog can increase prefrontal brain activity

Researchers led by Rahel Marti at the University of Basel in Switzerland report that viewing, feeling, and touching real dogs leads to increasingly higher levels of activity in the prefrontal cortex of the brain.

6 Oct 2022

Cell illumination and targeted cell editing using RNA-based editing technology

An RNA-based editing tool has been developed by Duke University researchers, which targets specific cells rather than genes. Any cell type can be precisely targeted, and any protein of interest can be added only to that cell type.

6 Oct 2022

Visualizing subcellular structures with the aid of a brilliant fluorescent protein

The RIKEN discovery of a fluorescent protein produced from a Japanese jellyfish that maintains its brightness even under intense light could have significant positive effects on fluorescence imaging of biological samples.

3 Oct 2022

Novel molecules alleviate pain, avoid sedating effect

According to new research headed by UC San Francisco scientists, a newly found group of molecules relieved pain in mice whilst preventing the sedating effect that limits the usage of opiates.

3 Oct 2022

New guidelines to generate high-quality, well-structured organoids

Researchers have opened a new avenue for investigations of neurological development, disease, and therapies that cannot be undertaken in living people by employing stem cells to grow small brain-like structures in the lab.

30 Sep 2022

Researchers use zebrafish larvae to study how the brain reacts to warmer temperatures

Which organisms survive and which succumb when the climate changes? A small larval fish is providing surprising insight into how the brain reacts when the temperature rises.

30 Sep 2022

“Junk” DNA could provide access to innovative treatments for neurological conditions

The breakthrough study from the University of Sheffield’s Neuroscience Institute and Healthy Lifespan Institute offers critical new insights into the so-called junk DNA, or DNA that was previously believed to be unimportant to the coding of the genome, and how it affects neurological disorders like Motor Neuron Disease (MND) and Alzheimer’s.

29 Sep 2022

Special blood vessels may protect whales from brain damage while swimming

Special blood vessels in whale brains may protect them from pulses, caused by swimming, in their blood that would damage the brain, new UBC research has suggested.

23 Sep 2022

Common genetic variants associated with beat synchronization identified

The first large-scale genomic study of musicality revealed 69 genetic variations linked with beat synchronization, which denotes the ability to move in time with the beat of the music.

From Vanderbilt University 20 Sep 2022

Native 3D structure of the ciliary base witnessed for the first time

Because flaws in the cilia transport system can result in, for example, blindness or cystic kidneys, findings reported in Science offer new understandings of the molecular basis for different diseases.

20 Sep 2022

Researchers reveal key developmental difference between the brains of modern humans and Neanderthals

AZoLifesciences speaks to Dr. Anneline Pinson and Prof. Dr. Wieland B. Huttner from The Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics about their latest research which found a greater neuron production in the frontal lobe during brain development in modern humans than Neanderthals, due to the change of a single amino acid in the protein TKTL1.

From The Max Planck Institute 20 Sep 2022

DCNNs are insensitive to object configuration

According to professor James Elder, co-author of a York University paper, Deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) could not view objects in the same way that humans do (through configural shape perception), which could be harmful in real-world AI applications.

From York University 19 Sep 2022

A new holographic microscope developed to observe neural networks in brain

Scientists headed by Associate Director Wonshik Choi of the Center for Molecular Spectroscopy and Dynamics in the Institute for Basic Science, Professor Kim Moonseok of The Catholic University of Korea, and Professor Myunghwan Choi of Seoul National University designed a new kind of holographic microscope.

19 Sep 2022

Novel molecular mechanism of focal adhesion kinase inhibition in HD

Principal researchers at the Brain Science Institute (BSI) of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology were said to have discovered substantially decreased activity of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) proteins that play a significant role in neurite motility and proper synapse formation in HD patients’ brain tissues.

19 Sep 2022