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.

New Research Reveals Mitochondrial Guardians Linked to Parkinson’s and ALS

Scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have discovered how a group of proteins linked to Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis act as "guardians" of mitochondria, small organelles, or subunits, within a cell that make and store energy and are found in almost all plants and animals.

8 Apr 2025

Study Sheds Light on Evolutionary Role of Microglia in the Peripheral Nervous System

In a study published in Cell on April 7, a research team led by Prof. Li Hanjie from the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has revealed the presence of microglia in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and identified their crucial role in regulating neuronal soma size throughout evolution.

8 Apr 2025

Breakthrough Ultrasound Technique Reveals Living Cells in 3D

While medical centers use ultrasound daily, so far this technology is not capable of observing body tissues at the scale of cells.

4 Apr 2025

Scientists Trace Cell Origins to Understand Inner Ear Development

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a method that shows how the nervous system and sensory organs are formed in an embryo.

4 Apr 2025

New Brain Organoid Model Reveals How Microglia Respond to Viral Infections

Organoids have revolutionized science and medicine, providing platforms for disease modeling, drug testing, and understanding developmental processes.

4 Apr 2025

Mapping Larger Tissue Sections Without Specialized Equipment

By creating comprehensive maps of the locations of gene expression in tissue, spatial transcriptomics technologies have made it possible to perform new types of biological assessments.

4 Apr 2025

CD11c Microglia Play Key Role in Neurodevelopmental Delays from Maternal Inflammation

A research group led by Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan has uncovered a potential mechanism linking maternal inflammation to delayed neurodevelopment in infants.

2 Apr 2025

New Genetic Targets for Atherosclerosis Prevention

Genetic variations that raise the risk of atherosclerosis have been found by Swedish researchers.

1 Apr 2025

Fluid Dynamics of Stentors Offers New Insight Into Evolution of Multicellular Life

Life emerged on Earth some 3.8 billion years ago. The "primordial soup theory" proposes that chemicals floating in pools of water, in the presence of sunlight and electrical discharge, spontaneously formed organic molecules.

1 Apr 2025

Study Identifies Mechanisms Regulating Nuclear Pore Complexes in Cells

The nuclei in our cells are miniature warehouses safeguarding the genetic blueprint for the body's biologic machinery.

1 Apr 2025

AI Brings Brain Metabolism to Life in 3D with MetaVision3D

The MetaVision3D tool transforms 2D tissue sections into 3D brain metabolome models, offering critical insights into metabolism and neurological diseases.

31 Mar 2025

Intermittent Fasting Alters Serotonin Levels to Boost Male Mice's Libido

Long-term fasting in 24-hour cycles increases the sex drive of male mice by lowering the concentration of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain.

29 Mar 2025

Scientists Capture How Glutamate Opens Neuron Signaling Channels

In an effort to understand how brain cells exchange chemical messages, scientists say they have successfully used a highly specialized microscope to capture more precise details of how one of the most common signaling molecules, glutamate, opens a channel and allows a flood of charged particles to enter.

29 Mar 2025

MitoBrainMap Unlocks Secrets of Brain Energy Distribution

Everything the brain does-from storing memories to interpreting sights to regulating emotions-requires energy, all produced by cellular organelles called mitochondria.

28 Mar 2025

CZI Launches Grand Challenge for Revolutionary Imaging Technologies

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) announced a new grand challenge to develop groundbreaking imaging technologies to transform how scientists observe, measure and understand living cells and organisms.

27 Mar 2025

Study Sheds Light on Cell’s Adaptive Response to Stress

The body's cells respond to stress-toxins, mutations, starvation or other assaults-by pausing normal functions to focus on conserving energy, repairing damaged components and boosting defenses.

27 Mar 2025

Dual Gene Role in Brain Progenitor Cell Dynamics

Scientists have uncovered a crucial genetic mechanism that plays a key role in the development and evolution of the human brain.

27 Mar 2025

Ancient Neurohormone Found to Control Appetite in Both Humans and Starfish

A team of biologists at Queen Mary University of London has discovered that a neurohormone controlling appetite in humans has an ancient evolutionary origin, dating back over half a billion years.

25 Mar 2025

Scientists Identify Crucial Mechanism for Maintaining Neuronal Identity in the Brain

A team of researchers from the Institute for Neurosciences, a joint center of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Miguel Hernández University (UMH) of Elche, in collaboration with researchers from Columbia University (New York, USA), has identified a mechanism that regulates the production of two different proteins from the same gene.

24 Mar 2025

Dendritic Spine Clusters Physically Link Memories Formed Close in Time

According to a recent study, the reason why memories from the same day seem connected while events from weeks apart feel separate is as follows: Human brains use dendrites, which are spiny extensions of neurons, rather than the cell bodies to physically connect memories that happen in close succession.

24 Mar 2025