Neurons News and Research

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ALS Stem Cell Model Reveals Increased Susceptibility to Cell Death

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fast-progressing neurodegenerative disease with an average survival time of three years. In ALS, certain types of neurons called motor neurons that are required for muscle contractions die off, leading to progressive paralysis affecting most muscles of the body. The molecular causes of ALS are poorly understood, and effective treatments are missing.

20 Dec 2024

SMART Software Unlocks New Insights into Cellular Dynamics

Researchers at University of California San Diego have developed and tested a new software package, called Spatial Modeling Algorithms for Reactions and Transport (SMART), that can realistically simulate cell-signaling networks -; the complex systems of molecular interactions that allow cells to respond to diverse cues from their environment.

20 Dec 2024

Chaperone Proteins Unveil Their Role in Neurotransmission

A team of researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst is the first to show how proteins called "chaperones" are vital in ensuring that neurons can transmit signals to one another. When this neurotransmission breaks down, devastating diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's along with many others, can occur.

19 Dec 2024

Neural Stem Cells Found to Rejuvenate the Aging Brain

Much like plants in a thriving forest, certain cells in the brain create a nurturing environment, enhancing the health and resilience of their neighbors, while others promote stress and damage, akin to a noxious weed in an ecosystem.

19 Dec 2024

Researchers Uncover Ketamine’s Effect on Astrocytes in Zebrafish

The decades-old anesthetic ketamine could be a game changer for treating severe depression, but there are still many questions about how the drug works, including exactly how it affects the brain's cells and circuits.

18 Dec 2024

Space Experiment Reveals Surprising Brain Cell Behavior

Microgravity exposure accelerates brain cell development in organoids, revealing potential implications for neurodegenerative disease research and space health.

18 Dec 2024

Unraveling the Mystery of Anglerfish’s Deadly Fishing Trick

Frogfish exhibit motor neuron migration in the CNS, revealing evolutionary adaptations in dorsal fins that enhance hunting efficiency and vertebrate evolution.

13 Dec 2024

Biomaterials to Regenerate the Nervous System: Carl Zeiss Foundation Sponsors InteReg Project at Mainz University

Collaborative project involving Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, and the Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research will receive EUR 6 million.

11 Dec 2024

New Study Challenges Traditional View of Axon Shape and Function

In a provocative new study, scientists challenge a fundamental tenet in neuroscience about the shape of axons -- the long, thin filaments radiating from nerve cells that transmit electrical signals from cell to cell – and propose a new model for understanding how information is transmitted in the brain.

9 Dec 2024

Mapping the Circadian Clock in the Drosophila Brain

All animals including humans are subject to daily rhythms in their activity and sleep, hunger, metabolism, and reproduction.

6 Dec 2024

Adult Neurogenesis Found to Aid Verbal Learning and Memory

Why do adults make new brain cells? A new study published in Cell Stem Cell provides the first cellular evidence that making new brain cells in adults supports verbal learning and memory, which enables people to have conversations and to remember what they hear.

6 Dec 2024

Groundbreaking Discovery Connects Immune Cells with Neural and Metabolic Control

Immune cells have a surprising and critical role in controlling movement and bridging neural activity with metabolic demands, concludes a groundbreaking study published in Nature by researchers at the University of Copenhagen and Imperial College London.

5 Dec 2024

New Insights into the Mechanisms Driving Familial Alzheimer's Disease

Millions of people worldwide suffer from Alzheimer's disease, a crippling illness that gradually robs people of their memory and cognitive abilities.

4 Dec 2024

New Discovery Redefines the Shape of Axons in Mammalian Brain Cells

Biology textbooks may need a revision, say Johns Hopkins Medicine scientists, who present new evidence that an armlike structure of mammalian brain cells may be a different shape than scientists have assumed for more than a century.

3 Dec 2024

The Immune System’s Role in Neurodegenerative Disease

Researchers have discovered a new connection between Parkinson’s disease development and the immune system.

2 Dec 2024

The Critical Role of TRiC in Brain Development and Function

In 1992, Judith Frydman, PhD, discovered a molecular complex with an essential purpose in all of our cells: folding proteins correctly.

29 Nov 2024

Mathematical Approach Helps Understand Complex Neural Systems

In an article published in the scientific journal PNAS Nexus, researchers from the Neuromorphic Engineering Laboratory at the University of Liège reveal a fascinating brain mechanism: the ability of neurons to maintain reliable functions despite significant variability in their physiological components.

29 Nov 2024

Study Reveals Molecular Mechanism Behind Neural Fate Commitment

The Wistar Institute's Alessandro Gardini, Ph.D., and lab have shed new light on how certain biological processes determine the development of neural cells. Their findings on a molecular "bridge" complex demonstrate a new level of detail in the understanding of early neural development -; which is fundamental for the further understanding of neurodevelopmental syndromes.

27 Nov 2024

Dopamine and Serotonin Act as Opposing Forces in Learning and Reward

If you've heard of two of the brain's chemical neurotransmitters, it's probably dopamine and serotonin. Never mind that glutamate and GABA do most of the work -; it's the thrill of dopamine as the "pleasure chemical" and serotonin as tender mood-stabilizer that attract all the headlines.

26 Nov 2024

Simplified Model Predicts Neuronal Activity in Zebrafish Gaze Control

Working with week-old zebrafish larva, researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and colleagues decoded how the connections formed by a network of neurons in the brainstem guide the fishes' gaze.

25 Nov 2024