Nervous System News and Research

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The nervous system is an organ system containing a network of specialized cells called neurons that coordinate the actions of an animal and transmit signals between different parts of its body. In most animals the nervous system consists of two parts, central and peripheral. The central nervous system contains the brain and spinal cord.

Painkillers reduce electric shock escape behaviour in lobsters

Analgesic treatments in Norway lobsters show promise in reducing shock responses, emphasizing the need for humane practices in crustacean research and industry.

23 Apr 2026

New Molecular Imaging Technology Illuminates Proteins Inside Living Cells

Fluorescent probes have transformed modern biology by allowing researchers to tag and visualize individual molecules in living cells, tissues, and animals.

22 Apr 2026

Stem Cell Model Reveals Mechanics of Early Human Embryo Development

For the first time, a stem cell model has produced a structure resembling an early human embryo with a yolk-sac-like structure, from a single starting stem cell population and without direct genetic manipulation.

21 Apr 2026

Physics Explains How Neural Tube Closure Occurs in Embryos

In about one out of every 1,000 pregnancies, the neural tube, a key nervous system structure, fails to close properly.

21 Apr 2026

Study Reveals How Neurons Sense Bacterial Signals in Nematodes

Neural interaction with bacteria, e.g. in the gut microbiome, has important effects on brains of animals from worms to people.

21 Apr 2026

Researchers Develop 3D Organoids that Reflect the Complexity of Brain Tumors

Efforts to identify and evaluate next-generation therapeutics for pediatric brain tumors are easily stymied by the quality and availability of laboratory models for research. To address this issue, scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital developed patient-derived tumor organoids and tumor organoid xenografts that accurately reflect the biologic underpinnings of embryonal brain tumors.

16 Apr 2026

"Zombie" Macrophages Accumulate in Aging Tissues and Diseased Livers

UCLA researchers have identified a rogue population of immune cells that quietly accumulates in aging tissues and in the livers of people with fatty liver disease. Clearing these cells, they found, dramatically reduced inflammation and reversed liver damage in mice - even while the animals remained on an unhealthy diet.

16 Apr 2026

Genetic Barcodes Reveal Early Origins of Human Peripheral Nerves

Millions of neurons branch throughout our bodies, keeping them in close communication with our brains. This peripheral network begins to take shape long before birth, as the cells of a growing embryo move into position and adopt their specialized roles.

15 Apr 2026

New Experimental System Mimics Low-Grade Pediatric Glioma in 3D

A three-dimensional experimental system has been developed to study the response to drugs in low-grade glioma, a tumor of the central nervous system that often occurs in children.

10 Apr 2026

Molecular Switch AHR Limits Neuron Regeneration and Axon Repair

Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have discovered a molecular switch in neurons that limits the regrowth of damaged axonal fibers.

3 Apr 2026

A Single-Celled Organism Uses Geometry To Sense Its World

Stentor coeruleus, a single-celled organism approximately one millimeter long, has a unique ability, according to a startling discovery made in the lab.

3 Apr 2026

Study Reveals How Trypanosomes Fine-Tune Protein Production Through Destruction

To survive in the human bloodstream, the African trypanosome parasite wears a "cloak" made of proteins known as a variant surface glycoprotein (VSG). The study, published in Nature Microbiology, identifies the protein that allows the parasite to fine-tune this "cloak".

31 Mar 2026