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.
Arctic ground squirrels are unique among mammals. Their ability to keep from freezing even when body temperatures dip below that mark on the thermometer enables them to survive extreme winter climates.
The biology underpinning a rare genetic mutation that allows its carrier to live virtually pain-free, heal more rapidly and experience reduced anxiety and fear, has been uncovered by new research from UCL.
To produce its many functions, including thought, the brain works at many scales. Information such as goals or images is represented by coordinated electrical activity among networks of neurons, while within and around each neuron a mix of proteins and other chemicals physically carries out the mechanics of participating in the network.
Neurons in a key area of the brain have different functions based on their exact genetic identity, and understanding this diversity could lead to better understanding of the brain's computational flexibility and memory capacity, potentially informing disease treatment options, Cornell researchers report in a new study.
A new treatment option has been discovered for fragile X syndrome, which is the most common genetic cause of autism spectrum disorders and is defined by a hereditary repetition of certain nucleotides in the DNA sequence of the FMR1 gene. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) carried out the study, which was published in the journal Cell.
Carolyn Elya, a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard, illustrates the molecular and cellular underpinnings of the parasitic fungus Entomophthora muscae’s (E. muscae’s) ability to influence the behavior of fruit flies in new research published in eLife.
From humans to plants to single-cell organisms, there's a protein that rules them all.
The course of human history has been marked by complex patterns of migration, isolation, and admixture, the latter a term that refers to gene flow between individuals from different populations.
The enzyme variations of mitochondrial enoyl-CoA hydratase short-chain 1 (ECHS1) are dysfunctional. In Japan, they are mostly responsible for mitochondrial disease.
Each living cell has small, highly specialized conduits called potassium (K+) channels, which are responsible for the highly selective and fast transfer of K+ ions across cell membranes.
University of Queensland-led research has revealed liver cells influence the body's internal circadian clock, which was previously believed to be solely controlled by the brain.
The MGAT5 glycosylation enzyme plays a crucial role in brain development, according to a study by University of California, Irvine researchers, a discovery that may contribute to new therapeutic purposes for neural stem cells.
Because serotonin is one of the primary chemicals the brain uses to influence mood and behavior, it is also the most common target of psychiatric drugs.
Each gene in the human DNA has a start and an endpoint. It is critical to correctly define the gene's extremities to make functional proteins. Much study has been conducted to identify what determines when, where, and at which place on the DNA a gene “starts.”
Glioblastoma cancer cells use mitochondria from the central nervous system to grow and form more aggressive tumors, according to new Cleveland Clinic-led findings published in Nature Cancer.
New research has discovered that some patients with motor neuron disease (MND) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) carry the same rare genetic defects that cause other neurodegenerative diseases.
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have linked specific variants or mutations of the gene myocardin-related transcription factor B (MRTFB) with a novel neurodevelopmental disorder.
Researchers have proposed a new model for the evolution of higher brain functions and behaviors in the Hymenoptera order of insects.
New multi-institutional phase 3 clinical trial data published May 2 in Cell Reports Medicine found that a cancer stem cell test can accurately decide more effective treatments and lead to increased survival for patients with glioblastoma, a deadly brain tumor.
An international research team, comprising scientists from DZNE, University Hospital Bonn, the Netherlands, and the US has been awarded a US$ 1.3 million grant by the "Human Frontier Science Program" to investigate brain immune cells and manipulate them via light irradiation.