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.

MiniVolt Microscope Captures Neuron Voltage Signals in Freely Moving Animals

Researchers have built a tiny, lightweight microscope that captures neuron activity with unprecedented speed that can be used in freely moving animals.

8 Dec 2025

Spatial Touchstone Project Brings Standardization to Spatial Transcriptomics

Spatial transcriptomics provides a unique perspective on the genes that cells express and where those cells are located.

8 Dec 2025

Single-Cell RNA Imaging Uncovers Four Distinct Neuron Bands in the Hippocampus

Researchers at the Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have identified a previously unknown pattern of organization in one of the brain's most important areas for learning and memory.

4 Dec 2025

Unraveling How GFAP Mutations Disrupt Mitochondria in Alexander Disease

Some brain disorders are straightforward, such as the direct frontal lobe assault of a concussion or traumatic brain injury. Others, like Alexander disease, are akin to guerilla warfare.

2 Dec 2025

How Singing Mice Reveal the Roots of Vocal Communication

All mice squeak, but only some sing. Scotinomys teguina, aka Alston's singing mice, hail from the cloud forests of Costa Rica. More than 2,000 miles north, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) neuroscientists study these musically gifted mammals to better understand the evolutionary origins of vocal communication.

2 Dec 2025

New Insight Into Light-Guided Growth of Bristleworm Eyes

A new study, led by the University of Vienna and the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven, shows how the eyes of adult marine bristleworms continue to grow throughout life – driven by a ring of neural stem cells reminiscent of vertebrate eyes.

2 Dec 2025

Gene Transcription Start Sites Identified as Hidden Mutational Hotspots

Researchers have discovered new regions of the human genome particularly vulnerable to mutations. These altered stretches of DNA can be passed down to future generations and are important for how we study genetics and disease.

27 Nov 2025

UBQLN2 Liquid Droplets Found to Catalyze Early α-Synuclein Aggregation

Parkinson's disease (PD) is an age-related, progressive neurodegenerative disorder. The hallmark of PD pathogenesis is the Lewy bodies (LBs) that accumulate in neurons in the substantia nigra region of the brain, damaging these neurons and leading to the motor symptoms of the disease. α-synuclein (α-syn), a misfolded protein, aggregates and forms fibrils, which leads to the formation of LBs.

27 Nov 2025

Scientists Map How Transcription Factors Interpret DNA Sequences

With a new study in the journal Cell, researchers at Stanford University and Stockholm University have contributed to increased knowledge about gene regulation in human cells.

27 Nov 2025

Researchers Uncover How Methamphetamine Suppresses Dopamine Clearance

Dopamine brings on a surge of pleasure, but too much dopamine in a synapse can ultimately lead to mood disorders and addiction.

26 Nov 2025

Scientists Map Five Major Epochs of Brain Wiring Across Human Life

Neuroscientists at the University of Cambridge have identified five "major epochs" of brain structure over the course of a human life, as our brains rewire to support different ways of thinking while we grow, mature, and ultimately decline.

26 Nov 2025

Discovery Reveals Unexpected Role for OTULIN in Controlling Tau Expression

Scientists have uncovered a surprising mechanism by which a brain enzyme called OTULIN controls the expression of tau, the protein that forms toxic tangles in Alzheimer's disease.

26 Nov 2025

New Technique Reveals Synaptic Vesicle Dynamics in Living Brain Tissue

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have used a "zap-and-freeze" technology to watch hard-to-see brain cell communications in living brain tissue from mice and humans.

25 Nov 2025

Advancing Brain Research With Nanowire-Based Astrocyte Models

Scientists have engineered a nanowire platform that mimics brain tissue to study astrocytes, the star-shaped cells critical for brain health, for the first time in their natural state.

25 Nov 2025

Discovery Connects Dopamine Receptor Desensitization to Everyday Motivational Fatigue

Our brain's reward system processes and reinforces pleasurable experiences, motivating us to seek out and engage in rewarding activities ranging from eating to social interactions to recreational drug use.

21 Nov 2025

New Multi-Target CAR-T Cells Eradicate Glioblastoma in Preclinical Models

With a five-year survival rate of less than 5%, glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive types of brain cancer.

21 Nov 2025

Lecanemab doesn’t improve early brain waste-clearance in Alzheimer’s

Imaging findings reveal lecanemab's early impact on amyloid plaques does not extend to glymphatic activity, highlighting challenges in Alzheimer's treatment.

20 Nov 2025

Innovative Human Cell Model Shows How Melanoma Thrives in the Brain

Using human cells and cutting-edge technology, the team created a three-dimensional (3D) model that accurately simulates the brain invaded by aggressive cancer.

19 Nov 2025

Discovery Reveals Greater Epigenetic Complexity in Unicellular Life

Multicellular organisms (animals, plants, human) all have the ability to methylate the cytosine © base in their DNA. This process, a type of epigenetic modification, plays an important role in conditions such as cancer and processes such as aging.

19 Nov 2025