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.

Single-Cell Sequencing Finds New Cell Types in the Visual Systems of Flies

Researchers from New York University have created a method that discovers and labels neurons throughout development, which has allowed them to identify novel cell types in the visual system of flies.

1 Aug 2023

The Role of the Golgi Apparatus in the Development of Postnatal Neurons

Neurons are the cells that constitute brain circuits and employ chemicals and electricity to receive and transmit information that allows the body to perform anything from thinking to sensing to movement.

31 Jul 2023

Alternate Fuel ‘Cells’ Redefines Function of Nutrition in the Immune System

A metabolic by-product that is more prominent during fasting can improve immune cells’ ability to fight off infection and disease, according to a preliminary study conducted by researchers at the Van Andel Institute and its partners.

31 Jul 2023

New Insights Into Lactate Transporters and Their Therapeutic Potential

Researchers from the Giulio Superti-Furga Lab at CeMM, the Austrian Academy of Sciences’ Research Center for Molecular Medicine, have developed a new technique for identifying specific inhibitors of a lactate transporter linked to cancer and other diseases.

31 Jul 2023

Integrating Ultrasound with Genetics to Precisely Modify Neurons in the Brain

Researchers have developed methods to study and manipulate areas of the brain, though many of those methods are restricted by the limited depth that light can reach within the brain. A multidisciplinary team at Washington University in St. Louis plans to overcome that limitation by integrating ultrasound with genetics to precisely modify neurons in the brain.

28 Jul 2023

New Class of Brain Inhibitory Neurons May Contribute to Autism and Schizophrenia

A University of California, Irvine-led team of researchers working at the Center for Neural Circuit Mapping find links between brain disorders and dysfunction of newly identified inhibitory brain cell types.

26 Jul 2023

Lactate Signaling Found to Be Critical for Neuronal Differentiation

Scientists at Tohoku University have discovered the critical role that lactate plays in helping neural stem cells develop into specialized neurons, a process dubbed neuronal differentiation.

25 Jul 2023

Male and Female Rats Show Different Brain Responses to Enriched Environment

Neurobiologists from Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University found out differences of educability level and processes of formation of spatial memory of adult male and female rats, that live together in large cages and played with toys.

25 Jul 2023

How Does the Brain Correct Navigational Errors?

The human brain uses spatial mapping and memory to steer from point A to point B during daily navigation. Making a navigational error that necessitates a course correction is also common.

20 Jul 2023

Developing a Fluorescent Sensor to Visualize Neuronal Self-Connectivity

How do brain cells, or neurons, distinguish their own processes and those of other neurons when they send out processes to connect with other neurons? A molecule known as clustered protocadherin (Pcdh) plays an important role in this puzzle.

19 Jul 2023

5-ALA Opens New Avenues for Treating Mitochondrial Disorders

At the Tokyo Metropolitan University, researchers have shown that 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) aids bypass deficiencies in Complex I (CI), the first in a series of protein complexes that transport electrons and assist in powering the mitochondria.

17 Jul 2023

Xenogeneic-Free Brain Organoids Offer New Hope for Studying Neurodegenerative Diseases

Researchers at University of Michigan developed a method to produce artificially grown miniature brains -; called human brain organoids -; free of animal cells that could greatly improve the way neurodegenerative conditions are studied and, eventually, treated.

14 Jul 2023

Scientists Discover How Brain's "Population Clock" Guides Behavior

From Aristotle's musings on the nature of time to Einstein's theory of relativity, humanity has long pondered: how do we perceive and understand time? The theory of relativity posits that time can stretch and contract, a phenomenon known as time dilation. Just as the cosmos warps time, our neural circuits can stretch and compress our subjective experience of time. As Einstein famously quipped, "Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute".

14 Jul 2023

Novel Drug Compound Reduces Sensory Hypersensitivity in Fragile X Mice

Boosting the activity of inhibitory interneurons in Fragile X mice reduced their hypersensitivity to sensory stimuli, according to a new Neuron study led by UCLA Health researchers.

14 Jul 2023

Mast Cells May Help Humans Avoid Harmful Antigens

Mast cells, which are part of the immune system, are still a puzzle. Mast cells function as a sensor that signifies the animals to avert antigens, including harmful allergens, and thus safeguard themselves from health-threatening inflammatory reactions, according to researchers at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ). The research was published in the journal Nature.

13 Jul 2023

New Approach to Reverse Aging and Restore Cellular Function

Researchers have opened a new front in the battle against aging and diseases associated with old age through a ground-breaking study

13 Jul 2023

AI-Aided Sensor Offers Hope for Early Detection of Neurodegenerative Diseases

By combining multiple advanced technologies into a single system, EPFL researchers have made a significant step forward in diagnosing neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD).

13 Jul 2023

The Future of Nanobiotechnology: Ethical Considerations

Prosthetics moved by thoughts. Targeted treatments for aggressive brain cancer. Soldiers with enhanced vision or bionic ears.

13 Jul 2023

Dad’s Genes “Remote Control” Mom’s Metabolism to Benefit Fetus

The unborn baby “remote controls” its mother’s metabolism, resulting in a nutritional tug-of-war between the two. The mother’s body requires the baby to survive, but she also needs enough glucose and fats in her system to be able to deliver the baby, breastfeed, and reproduce again.

12 Jul 2023

Glucose-Sensing Neurons May Play a Role in Regulating Blood Sugar

The body's blood glucose level needs to be maintained in a relatively narrow range. It cannot be too high, as it can lead to diabetes, and it cannot be too low because it can cause fainting or even death.

12 Jul 2023