Newsline — Thursday, August 1, 2013 13:00
Ted Talk: Synthetic Neurobiology and a Light Switch for Neurons
Scientist Identifies Protein That May Aid in Recovery from Spinal Cord Injury
Thursday, August 1, 2013 9:33
Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found that a protein may provide insight to spinal cord healing and functional recovery. Many spinal cord injuries are disabling since the body cannot regenerate nerve fibers, requiring the body to reroute healthy tissue around the site of the injury. Researchers discovered that the p45 protein has a protective effect on healthy tissue. “If the freeway is down, but you can still take the side-streets, traffic can still move. So your strategy has to be to find a way to preserve as much tissue as possible, to give yourself a chance for that rerouting,” one researcher said. Click here to read the full story.
Study Reveals a Potential Therapeutic Strategy for Parkinson’s Disease
Wednesday, July 31, 2013 13:12
A team at the Scripps Research Institute has found that the loss of parkin, an enzyme whose absence causes early-onset Parkinson’s disease, drastically reduces the presence of another protein that protects neurons from stress. The finding, published online in Molecular and Cell Biology, could lead to new treatment strategies for Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. Click here to read the full story.
Ted Talk: Yoav Medan on Ultrasound Surgery
Wednesday, July 31, 2013 9:34
From Ted.com: Imagine having a surgery with no knives involved. At TEDMED, Yoav Medan shares a technique that uses MRI to find trouble spots and focused ultrasound to treat such issues as brain lesions, uterine fibroids and several kinds of cancerous growths. Click here if you are not able to view the video above.
Study Identifies Brain Circuits Linked to Complusive Drinking in Rats, May Have Implications for Alcoholism in Humans
Tuesday, July 30, 2013 13:00
Scientists at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco, have found processes in rats’ brains that compel them to drink compusively. These processes likely play a role in humans also. Researchers at the Gallo Clinic and Research Center (which coincidentally is named for the wine magnate) were able to reduce the rats’ compulsive drinking by blocking the neural pathways running along the prefrontal cortex, the brain region that handles critical thinking and risk assessment, and the nucleus accumbens, the brain region associated with motivation and reward. Click here to read the full story.
Stem Cell-Based “Epilepsy in a Dish” Research May Yield Novel Treatments, Findings
Tuesday, July 30, 2013 9:09
Researchers at the University of Michigan Medical School have discovered that a new stem cell-based approach to studying epilepsy offers insight into what causes one type of the disease. The technique, called “Epilepsy in a Dish”, turns the skin cells of epilepsy patients into stem cells which are then turned into neurons. This method creates a small testing ground for epilepsy, one that may aid in the discovery of novel treatments for many kinds of seizure disorders. Click here to read the full story.
Ted Talk: Neuroscientist Discusses the Real Reason for the Brain
Monday, July 29, 2013 13:00
From Ted.com Neuroscientist Daniel Wolpert starts from a surprising premise: the brain evolved, not to think or feel, but to control movement. In this entertaining, data-rich talk he gives us a glimpse into how the brain creates the grace and agility of human motion. Click here if you are unable to view the video above.
Brain Tumor Removed Through Nose in Rare Procedure
Monday, July 29, 2013 9:23
In an endoscopic transnasal tumor resection, a Louisville man had a brain tumor removed through his nose. Only a few surgeons in the country are to said to be able to perform the procedure, which uses a small camera threaded through the nostrils to view the tumor. “I like it a whole lot better than cutting a hole in the top of your head,” the patient said. Click here to view the complete story.
Brain’s Plaque Buildup Could Serve as Early Biomarker for Alzheimer’s Disease
Friday, July 26, 2013 13:00
In a study published in the Neurobiology of Aging, researchers from Penn Medicine’s Department of Radiolgy have found that the trajectory of amyloid plaque buildup in the brain may act as an effective biomarker for the early detection of cognitive decline. Research determined that amyloid plaque that accumlates early in the temporal lobe was linked to participants with cognitive decline. “Knowing that certain brain abnormality patterns are associated with cognitive performance could have pivotal importance for the early detection and management of Alzheimer’s,” one researcher said. Click here to read the full story.
Electrical Activity in Brain Contains Info on Memory, Environment and State of Mind
Friday, July 26, 2013 9:15
A collection of memories, environmental circumstances and an individual’s current state of mind are among the pieces of information carried in the electrical activity of brain cells. This finding, revealed in a New York University study, offers new perspectives on the processes that aid in knowledge and recalling memories. Click here to read the full article.