Brain News and Research

RSS

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.

CU scientists identify key role of brain's immune cells during development

Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have identified how specific brain cells interacting during development could be related to neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases, including some that occur later in life.

10 Jul 2020

Scientists discover role of surface diffusion in protein transport

Many of the most promising medicines under development are proteins, often antibodies, to help patients fight disease. These proteins must be purified as part of the manufacturing process -- a task that can be tricky and result in costly waste.

8 Jul 2020

Brain's dedicated immune cells clear paths through 'scaffolding' to let neurons talk

To make new memories, our brain cells first must find one another. Small protrusions that bud out from the ends of neurons' long, branching tentacles dock neurons together so they can talk.

7 Jul 2020

Organoids reveal inflammatory processes that play a role in infectious diseases

Research is employing mini-organs to model the digestive tract in the laboratory setting. These supposed organoids shed light on the inflammatory processes.

6 Jul 2020

Study reveals the role of alpha-synuclein in Parkinson’s disease

In people affected by Parkinson’s, clusters of alpha-synuclein or α-synuclein, also referred to as the “Parkinson’s protein,” are detected in the brain.

6 Jul 2020

Harvard neurobiologists provide new insights into the mystery of scent

The premiere of the movie Scent of Mystery in 1960 marked a singular event in the annals of cinema: the first, and last, motion picture debut "in glorious Smell-O-Vision."

3 Jul 2020

Discovery of new step in brain cell mechanism could lead to new treatments for epilepsy

Researchers have identified a critical new step in how brain cells function in people with one of the most common forms of epilepsy.

2 Jul 2020

Researchers track how key brain receptor works

For the first time, researchers in the lab of CSHL Professor Hiro Furukawa have been able to track each atom in the NMDA receptor, an important brain protein, as it transmits or inhibits neural signals.

1 Jul 2020

Region-specific atlas reveals genome linked to human embryonic brain development

An adjusted sequence of genetic events should occur to allow the budding brain of a human embryo to turn into the organ that regulates human consciousness.

1 Jul 2020

Lab-grown 'mini-brains' can be infected by SARS-CoV-2 virus

A multidisciplinary team from two Johns Hopkins University institutions, including neurotoxicologists and virologists from the Bloomberg School of Public Health and infectious disease specialists from the school of medicine, has found that organoids (tiny tissue cultures made from human cells that simulate whole organs) known as "mini-brains" can be infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.

1 Jul 2020

Scientists develop novel image processing techniques to reduce processing time

Researchers have created novel image processing techniques for microscopes that can decrease the time for post-processing by up to several thousand-fold.

1 Jul 2020

Genome sequencing reveals signposts in DNA for cancer, disease risk

By sequencing entire genomes for DNA modifications, and analyzing both cancer tissues and healthy ones, Hackensack Meridian Health researchers and doctors have found what could be a key to risks for cancer and other diseases: specific locations in the DNA where those expression changes (methylation) are imbalanced, according to a new publication.

30 Jun 2020

Researchers identify osmotic stress as stimulator of cellular waste disposal

Cellular waste disposal, where autophagy and lysosomes interact, performs elementary functions, such as degrading damaged protein molecules, which impair cellular function, and reintroducing the resulting building blocks such as amino acids into the metabolic system.

29 Jun 2020