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.

Study: Individuals who recovered from depression had increased level of serotonin transporter

Low levels of serotonin in the brain are seen as a possible cause of depression and many antidepressants act by blocking a protein that transports serotonin away from the nerve cells.

11 May 2021

Study unravels the role of proteins in data processing in the brain

For data to travel from one nerve cell to the next, a complex association between different proteins is necessary.

10 May 2021

AI-integrated microscopes perform quicker imaging and handle more data

Scientists have begun using a method known as light-field microscopy to capture rapid biological processes in 3D to identify the neuronal signals in a fish brain.

10 May 2021

Lack of functional GAS2 gene causes severe hearing impairment in mice

A gene called GAS2 plays a key role in normal hearing, and its absence causes severe hearing loss, according to a study led by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

10 May 2021

Researchers map unique genetic profile of osteocytes for the first time

Researchers have mapped the specific genetic profile of the skeleton’s “master regulator” cells, called osteocytes, for the first time.

7 May 2021

Researchers devise a small-molecule cocktail to protect stem cells from stress

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have devised a four-part small-molecule cocktail that can protect stem cells called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from stress and maintain normal stem cell structure and function.

4 May 2021

New integrative genetic screening technology offers insights into role of DNA accessibility in cancer

In a new resource for the scientific community, published today in Nature Biotechnology, researchers in the lab of Neville Sanjana, PhD, at the New York Genome Center (NYGC) and New York University (NYU) developed CRISPR-sciATAC, a novel integrative genetic screening platform that jointly captures CRISPR gene perturbations and single-cell chromatin accessibility genome-wide.

30 Apr 2021

Genetically encoded sensor helps detect hallucinogenic substances

Researchers at the University of California, Davis, have created a genetically encoded sensor for detecting hallucinogenic substances.

From The University of California, Davis 29 Apr 2021

Study identifies single protein key to regulating sex differences in Parkinson’s disease

Neuroscientists have found that a single protein is critical to controlling sex disparities in the brain’s susceptibility to age-related neuron loss.

From University of Pittsburgh 29 Apr 2021

Study discovers that mutations in a specific gene cause mitochondrial disease

For the first time, a research team from Monash University has discovered that mutations in a specific gene cause mitochondrial disease.

29 Apr 2021

Researchers discover new approach to reform plant breeding and genetics

The research was conducted at the Department of Food Science at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH FOOD) with professor emeritus Lars Munck as coordinator and builds on earlier work since 1963 at Svaloef Plant Breeding Institute and the Carlsberg Laboratory.

28 Apr 2021

National DNA Day 2021: An Interview with Professor George Church

In celebration of National DNA Day, AZoLifeSciences interviews renowned DNA expert Professor George Church about his life-long career in DNA research.

From Harvard Medical School 23 Apr 2021

New algorithm maps gene expression patterns into specific locations

Cell-type databases are increasing in size and complexity as researchers accumulate a great deal of gene-sequencing data.

21 Apr 2021

Chaperone protein imbalance initiates toxic accumulation of tau in the aging brain

Chaperone protein imbalance can play a significant role in initiating toxic accumulation of tau in the aging brain - an early step in the development of Alzheimer's disease and related neurodegenerative disorders known as tauopathies, a new preclinical study by University of South Florida Health (USF Health) neuroscientists suggests.

21 Apr 2021

Study shows how tau aggregates promote Alzheimer’s disease

If looked deep into the brain of a patient with Alzheimer’s disease or those suffering from the most types of dementia or the concussion-associated syndrome, called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), there would be hairball-like tangles of a protein known as tau—a common suspected culprit.

20 Apr 2021