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Tag: "brain" at biology news

Rare cell prevents rampant brain activity

One of the mysteries of the brain is how it avoids ending up in a state of chaos, so... now uncovered a new mechanism controlling how the brain keeps its neuronal activity in check. The human brain consists of around a hundred million nerve c...

Researchers develop marker that identifies energy-producing centers in nerve cells

...versity of Maryland School of Medicine to light up brain cells that are critical for the proper functioning... This fluorescent marker protein may shed light on brain cell defects believed to play a role in various neurological diseases. The researchers describe how ...

Investigating the measles virus as a tool to kill multiple myeloma

... tumor types, including glioblastoma multiforme (a brain tumor), recurrent ovarian cancer and now multiple myeloma. The measles viruses being used for these studies were constructed by inserting additional genes into the measles vaccine strain. Many cancers, including multiple myeloma, overexpress ...

Study examines genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's disease

...ich could affect the development of tangles within brain cells, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Profe... distressing, irreversible and progressive loss of brain function and memory. The School of Medicine’s Department of Psychological Medicine has establis...

Genetic fingerprints identify brain tumors' origins

Genetic fingerprints that reveal where a brain cell came from remain distinct even after the cell becomes a brain tumor, an international coalition of scientists will report in the February 1 issue of Cancer Resear...

Stanford-led study closes in on genes that may predispose some people to severe depression

...tand what type of gene is it, what it does in the brain and by what mechanism it could make one more or less predisposed to depression." Knowing more about which genes are the major factors causing a predisposition for depression would also help researchers sort out the environmental factors that c...

2 brains -- 1 thought

...nomena, December, 2006). The nerve cells of the brain are inter-connected to a complex network. All brain activities are the result of the "firing" of nerve cells, when they send electrical pulses - like a ...

Out-of-body experiences may be caused by arousal system disturbances in brain

...y between the REM sleep state and wakefulness, the brain switch blends these states into one another. T...leep due to an ill-timed disconnection between the brain and the body. Although it was once considered very rare, about 25 percent of all people have probabl...

Brain's reward circuit activity ebbs and flows with a woman's hormonal cycle

...pictures of sex hormones influencing reward-evoked brain activity in humans may provide insights into menst... reward circuit, Berman and colleagues scanned the brain activity of 13 women and 13 men while they performed a task involving simulated slot machines. The w...

A 'traffic light' for neurons means 'go' for improving brain research

...tes from the electrical signals emitted by diverse brain cells enmeshed in a tangle of circuits. At this fu...f Nature describes a technique to directly control brain cell activity with light. It is a novel means for experimenting with neural circuits and could event...

Glucose triggers brain cell death in rats after hypoglycemic coma

...udy tells us for the first time that, in rats, the brain damage occurs not during the coma, but after it, w...of the damage: the sudden return of glucose to the brain activates the enzyme NADPH oxidase, which in turn initiates a process of oxidative stress that is fa...

Gene tests and brain imaging reveal early dementia

...utet in Sweden, now shows that genetic mapping and brain imagery can be used to identify people who will develop dementia even before any clinical symptoms appear. "This is a crucial step towards the better diagnosis of Alzheimer's," she says. "If the method is developed it can help us find the people ...

In obesity, brain becomes 'unaware' of fat

Critical portions of the brain in those who are obese don’t really know they are ...e findings in obese mice show that a sensor in the brain that normally detects a critical fat hormone—causing a cascade of events that keeps energy balance i...

Gene found for rare disorder may reveal new pathway in mental retardation

...oles in early development, and when mutated, cause brain abnormalities. "Our work suggests that a subset...plex proteins, the strongest effect seems to be in brain development," said Dr. Krantz. Drs. Krantz and Jackson together maintain the world's largest dat...

Mutation improves memory, may lead to memory-enhancing pill

...emories are formed when the repeated activation of brain cells leads to a strengthening of neural connections, or synapses. This process, considered the cellular basis of learning and memory, is known as synaptic plasticity. Both memory and synaptic plasticity have two components, the researchers explai...

Action video games sharpen vision 20 percent

...l information," says Daphne Bavelier, professor of brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Roches...push the human visual system to the limits and the brain adapts to it. That learning carries over into other activities and possibly everyday life." The im...

New compound prevents alcoholic behavior, relapse in animals by blocking stress response

...ver. Such stress is linked with higher levels of a brain chemical called corticotropin-releasing factor (CR...g alcohol dependence in animals. CRF levels in the brain rise in the short term after drinking; in subjects that are not dependent, this activation returns t...

Imaging pinpoints brain regions that 'see the future'

...hington University in St. Louis have used advanced brain imaging techniques to show that remembering the pa...ctivity within precisely the same broad network of brain regions. "In our daily lives, we probably spend more time envisioning what we're going to do tomo...

MIT model helps researchers 'see' brain development

...ex. By applying computer graphics techniques to brain images collected using magnetic resonance (MR) ima...nned these infants and children to assess possible brain injury and found no neural defects. Later, she also consulted with Fischl's team to ensure that thei...

Enhancing activity of marijuana-like chemicals in brain helps treat

Marijuana-like chemicals in the brain may point to a treatment for the debilitating con...inoids, naturally occurring chemicals found in the brain that are similar to the active compounds in marijuana and hashish, helped trigger a dramatic impro...

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