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.

Biophysicists shed light on how optogenetic tool works

An international research team has for the first time obtained the structure of the light-sensitive sodium-pumping KR2 protein in its active state.

29 May 2020

Study highlights crucial role of immune-system molecule in Huntington's disease

More than a decade before people with Huntington's disease show symptoms, they can exhibit abnormally high levels of an immune-system molecule called interleukin-6 (IL-6), which has led many researchers to suspect IL-6 of promoting the eventual neurological devastation associated with the genetic condition.

28 May 2020

Making opioids safer and more effective

Dr. John Streicher speaks to AZoLifeSciences about his research on improving opioid drugs to make them safer and more effective.

From University of Arizona 28 May 2020

The eye launches an immune response in the lens following injury

The lens of the eye is an unusual organ. Unlike most of the body's organs, blood vessels don't reach the lens. If they did, they'd obscure our vision and we wouldn't be able to see. The lack of vasculature led scientists to believe immune cells, which travel via the bloodstream, couldn't get to this part of the body either.

27 May 2020

Researchers identify 29 genetic variants linked to problematic drinking

Scientists carried out a genome-wide analysis of over 435,000 people, revealing 29 genetic variants associated with problematic drinking.

27 May 2020

Researchers design antibody to identify pathogens of Alzheimer's disease

Researchers have found a way to design an antibody that can identify the toxic particles that destroy healthy brain cells - a potential advance in the fight against Alzheimer's disease.

26 May 2020

Fruit fly study helps explain why it is so hard to wake up on a winter morning

Winter may be behind us, but do you remember the challenge of waking up on those cold, dark days? Temperature affects the behavior of nearly all living creatures, but there is still much to learn about the link between sensory neurons and neurons controlling the sleep-wake cycle.

26 May 2020

New model mimics early embryonic stages of the human brain

We know a lot about the human brain, but very little about how it is formed. In particular, the stages from the second to the seventh week of embryonic development have so far been virtually unknown territory to brain researchers.

26 May 2020

Gene associated with thinness may play a role in resisting weight gain

Some people can remain slim easily, irrespective of their diet, while others might be dieting and working out at the gym to maintain their shape.

25 May 2020

Genetic 'memory' of ancestral homelands helps organisms adapt to environmental change

Organisms carry long-term "memories" of their ancestral homelands that help them adapt to environmental change, according to a new study that involved raising chickens on the Tibetan Plateau and an adjacent lowland site.

22 May 2020

Genetic discoveries raise the promise of developing new treatments for schizophrenia

In recent years, genome-wide association studies have identified many different genetic variants associated with schizophrenia.

22 May 2020

Determining The Quantity And Location Of Lipids In The Brain

Researchers have developed a new technique that can determine the specific molecular form, location, and the number of lipids in samples of rat brain tissue.

22 May 2020

Innovative two-photon microscopy enables in vivo subcellular imaging of the retina

Retina is the only part of the central nervous system that can be visualized noninvasively with optical imaging approaches.

21 May 2020

New technique can determine the location and quantity of lipids in the brain

A research team has devised a unique method that can establish the amount, location, and specific molecular form of lipids in rat brain tissue samples.

21 May 2020

Study identifies brain structure that controls our behavior

For our social life and our profession we must be able to deal with our environment and other people. Executive functions, meaning the basic intellectual abilities that control human thought and action, help us to do this.

20 May 2020

Scientists develop computer model to accurately predict brain age

Scientists have trained a computer to analyze different types of brain scan and predict the age of the human brain, according to a new study in the open-access journal eLife.

20 May 2020

New head-mounted microscope allows access to inner workings of the brain

Scientists working at caesar have developed a small head-mounted microscope that allows access to the inner workings of the brain.

20 May 2020

Protein modification may cause long-term consequences

Sometimes proteins misfold. When that happens in the human brain, the pileup of misfolded proteins can lead to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and ALS.

20 May 2020

Study: Only 3% individuals diagnosed with autism receive recommended genetic tests

A study analyzing data from the Rhode Island Consortium for Autism Research and Treatment (RI-CART) found that only 3% of individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder reported having fully received clinical genetic tests recommended by medical professional societies.

19 May 2020

Eating one meal high in saturated fat may affect our ability to focus

Fatty food may feel like a friend during these troubled times, but new research suggests that eating just one meal high in saturated fat can hinder our ability to concentrate - not great news for people whose diets have gone south while they're working at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

19 May 2020