Experimental drug shown to block mutant protein causing blood disease
...ngers and toes, breast and pancreatic cancers, and brain tumors....Binocular rivalry: Fulfilling visual expectations
...made headway in understanding how signaling in the brain allows expectation to influence visual perception....htly different views of the world. Ordinarily, our brain will fuse these two views to add depth to our visual world. However, if the two eyes' images are so ...Targeted therapy knocks out pediatric brain cancer in mice
...stoma, the most common type of malignant pediatric brain tumor. The finding is encouraging in that such precise, targeted therapies may someday replace traditional treatments that can have overwhelmingly negative side effects for pediatric cancer patients. The research is published in the September issue o...Loss of the neuronal adhesion protein d-catenin leads to severe cognitive dysfunction
...l observations suggest it plays a critical role in brain function. Human chromosome-5 truncations that disr...itical for synaptic plasticity, a process by which brain circuits can be modified during learning, it has been unknown wether deletions of d-catenin would al...Amyloid fibers sprout one step at a time
...protein clumping, producing a plaque that can kill brain cells. In humans, clumping causes fatal brain-destroying diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and kuru; in animals it causes bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) and scrapie. In the yeast cells Weissman and his colleagues used as...Genetic modification of linseed produces healthier omega 3 and 6 fatty acids
...ome and some cancers, and the promotion of healthy brain and eye development in infants. Scientists have been working on engineering the production of the very long chain PUFA in plants, because increased consumption of fish and fish oils is associated with other nutritional and environmental problems. Fir...Popular Science announces Third Annual 'Brilliant 10'
...until he pioneered a method for observing a single brain cell in a living creature over time. By creating a microscope powerful enough to image a synapse--one-billionth the size of a grain of rice--he witnessed mouse neurons sprouting new branches in response to unfamiliar tasks, and saw new synapses appea...Information system to help scientists analyze mechanisms of social behavior
...ate profiles of gene expression that occurs in the brain of individuals that are captured in the very act of performing their normal activities." While the experimental model is an insect, the researchers will use broad categories of social roles that could potentially apply to higher organisms, including ...New way to protect brain from stroke damage
...esearchers have uncovered a new culprit behind the brain injury suffered by stroke victims. Their new study, published in the Sept. 17 issue of Cell, links brain cell damage to a rise in brain acidity following the oxygen depletion, or ischemia, characteristic o...Folic acid vitamin use by women reaches all-time high, March of Dimes survey finds
...cy is crucial because serious birth defects of the brain and spine known as neural tube defects (NTDs) occur in the early weeks following conception, often before a woman knows she is pregnant. The survey was conducted for the March of Dimes by The Gallup Organization under a grant from the U.S. Cen...Brain has center for detecting sound motion
...monstrate conclusively for the first time that the brain has a specialized region for processing sound moti... Also, the researchers electrically stimulated the brain region to be removed--using electrodes already in place to monitor epileptic activity. They found th...New fruitfly model of diabetes has future implications for pancreatic cell transplantation
...lifson and Kim showed that a group of cells in the brain of the fly make insulin, which parallels the role of beta cells in humans. Now, in the September 16 issue of Nature, the researchers describe cells that produce a glucagon-like hormone, which are akin to alpha cells in mammals. These two cell types w...Protein is key to fatal disorder and normal cell function
...o identify where the cln3 protein resides in human brain cells and to link the protein's location to its fu...uncontrolled seizures and massive cell loss in the brain eventually resulting in death in the twenties. Duke graduate student Dixie-Ann Persaud-Sawin, lead a...A liking for sweets, combined with novelty seeking, may predict alcoholism
...to the rewarding effects of alcohol are related to brain function. Children of alcoholics are reported to have a heritable dysfunction of the brain reward system that makes them super sensitive to the rewarding effects of alcohol, he said. The sam...A probable cause for high blood pressure identified - shows links with diabetes
...e that triggers a reaction within the cell) in the brain that is known to regulate blood pressure and relea...for decades that when a particular receptor in the brain is over-stimulated, blood vessels constrict and blood pressure rises," said George Prell, PhD, Assoc...Chemical signals health of brain cells Symposium
... best known as a marker for the health of neurons, brain cells, which can be measured non-invasively, using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). The meeting brings together basic researchers and clinicians from around the world to discuss all aspects of NAA, a highly abundant and nervous system-specific...Molecule awakens and maintains neural connections
...ng immature neurons, and potentially in the mature brain as well, where it may play a role in memory format...ctions, known as long-term potentiation, allow the brain to create memories. In exploring the growth and development of dendritic spines, Shi, the Jans, an...Joslin President awarded medal from international diabetes organization
... Dr. Kahn discussed how communication between the brain and tissues of the body relates to the pathogenesis of diabetes. Dr. Ele Ferrannini, the president of the EASD, presented Dr. Kahn with the Claude Bernard Medal immediately following his lecture on the final day of the meeting, Sept. 9. Over the p...Spontaneous mutation produces new MAO A/B knockout mouse
...t," says Dr. Shih. "When both are missing in mice, brain neurotransmitters levels increase greatly and body weights are smaller. The mice also show anxiety and aggressive behavior, especially under stress." Looking further into the matter, Dr. Shih determined that a spontaneous mutation in a single nucle...Cell's gatekeeper for ammonia revealed in unprecedented detail
...ells carry it in high concentration, yet the human brain can't tolerate it. The ability of cells to acquire or dispose of ammonia can be a matter of life and death. In the September 10 issue of Science , UCSF researchers publish the first atomic-level structure of the channel that controls the passage of ...