Science and Technology News

Market trends and business perspectives

brain

New technology ‘retrains’ cells to repair damaged brain tissue in mice after stroke

by

Most stroke victims don’t receive treatment fast enough to prevent brain damage. Scientists at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, College of Engineering and College of Medicine have developed technology to “retrain” cells to help repair damaged brain tissue.

It’s an advancement that may someday help patients regain speech, cognition and motor function, even when administered days after an ischemic stroke.

Engineering and medical researchers use a process created by Ohio State called tissue nanotransfection (TNT) to introduce genetic material into cells. This allows them to reprogram skin cells to become something different – in this case vascular cells – to help fix damaged brain tissue.

Study findings published online today in the journal Science Advances. [Read more…] about New technology ‘retrains’ cells to repair damaged brain tissue in mice after stroke

Could leak in blood-brain barrier be cause of poor memory?

by

Have you forgotten where you laid your keys? Ever wondered where you had parked your car? Or having trouble remembering the name of the new neighbor? Unfortunately, these things seem to get worse as one gets older. A big question for researchers is, where does benign forgetfulness end and true disease begin?

One of the keys to having a healthy brain at any age is having a healthy blood-brain barrier, a complex interface of blood vessels that run through the brain. Researchers reviewed more than 150 articles to look at what happens to the blood-brain barrier as we age. Their findings were published March 15 in Nature Aging.

Whether the changes to the blood-brain barrier alters brain function, however, is still up for debate. [Read more…] about Could leak in blood-brain barrier be cause of poor memory?

NIH grants $1.6 million to Virginia Tech to study ‘one of the final frontiers of science’ – the brain

by

Of all the worlds still to be explored, among the most mysterious may be closest to home. Indeed, it may be right between your ears.

A type of cell called the astrocyte accounts for more than 25 percent of the human brain, yet a small percentage of how this cell function contributes to brain function is actually understood.

Virginia Tech neuroscientist Michelle Olsen seeks to change that through a new five-year, $1.6 million grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health.

She hopes her work will one day allow scientists to more deeply understand how this cell develops and functions in the healthy brain so that they can better treat neurodevelopmental disorders and neurological disease. [Read more…] about NIH grants $1.6 million to Virginia Tech to study ‘one of the final frontiers of science’ – the brain

Key brain molecule may play role in many brain disorders

by

A team led by scientists at the UNC School of Medicine identified a molecule called microRNA-29 as a powerful controller of brain maturation in mammals. Deleting microRNA-29 in mice caused problems very similar to those seen in autism, epilepsy, and other neurodevelopmental conditions.

The results, published in Cell Reports, illuminate an important process in the normal maturation of the brain and point to the possibility that disrupting this process could contribute to multiple human brain diseases.

“We think abnormalities in microRNA-29 activity are likely to be a common theme in neurodevelopmental disorders and even in ordinary behavioral differences in individuals,” said senior author Mohanish Deshmukh, PhD, professor in the UNC Department of Cell Biology & Physiology and member of the UNC Neuroscience Center. “Our work suggests that boosting levels of miR-29, perhaps even by delivering it directly, could lead to a therapeutic strategy for neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism.” [Read more…] about Key brain molecule may play role in many brain disorders

A new theory for how memories are stored in the brain

by

Research from the University of Kent has led to the development of the MeshCODE theory, a revolutionary new theory for understanding brain and memory function.

This discovery may be the beginning of a new understanding of brain function and in treating brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

In a paper published by Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, Dr Ben Goult from Kent’s School of Biosciences describes how his new theory views the brain as an organic supercomputer running a complex binary code with neuronal cells working as a mechanical computer. [Read more…] about A new theory for how memories are stored in the brain

Brain patterns indicative of consciousness, in unconscious individuals

by

Amid longstanding difficulties distinguishing consciousness in humans in unconscious states, scientists report fMRI-based evidence of distinct patterns of brain activity they say can differentiate between consciousness or unconsciousness.

Detecting these patterns in real-time could allow for externally induced manipulations that noninvasively restore consciousness. The detection process also has the potential to greatly facilitate medical decision-making for patients in whom consciousness is impaired, the authors say.

Unconsciousness is characterized by an inability to report subjective experience. [Read more…] about Brain patterns indicative of consciousness, in unconscious individuals

Experimental hearing implant succeeds in registering brain waves

by

Researchers at KU Leuven (Belgium) have succeeded for the first time in measuring brain waves directly via a cochlear implant.

These brainwaves indicate in an objective way how good or bad a person’s hearing is. The research results are important for the further development of smart hearing aids.

A cochlear implant enables people with severe hearing loss to hear again. An audiologist adjusts the device based on the user’s input, but this is not always easy. [Read more…] about Experimental hearing implant succeeds in registering brain waves

First-of-its-kind mechanical model simulates bending of mammalian whiskers

by

Researchers have developed a new mechanical model that simulates how whiskers bend within a follicle in response to an external force, paving the way toward better understanding of how whiskers contribute to mammals’ sense of touch.

Yifu Luo and Mitra Hartmann of Northwestern University and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS Computational Biology.

With the exception of some primates, most mammals use whiskers to explore their environment through the sense of touch. [Read more…] about First-of-its-kind mechanical model simulates bending of mammalian whiskers

Multilingual people have an advantage over those fluent in only two languages

by

Multilingual people have trained their brains to learn languages, making it easier to acquire more new languages after mastering a second or third.

In addition to demystifying the seemingly herculean genius of multilinguals, researchers say these results provide some of the first neuroscientific evidence that language skills are additive, a theory known as the cumulative?enhancement model of language acquisition.

“The traditional idea is, if you understand bilinguals, you can use those same details to understand multilinguals. We rigorously checked that possibility with this research and saw multilinguals’ language acquisition skills are not equivalent, but superior to those of bilinguals,” said Professor Kuniyoshi L. Sakai from the University of Tokyo, an expert in the neuroscience of language and last author of the research study recently published in Scientific Reports. [Read more…] about Multilingual people have an advantage over those fluent in only two languages

Related Posts

Why the brain enjoys music

by

Communication between the brain’s auditory and reward circuits is the reason why humans find music rewarding, according to new research published in JNeurosci.

Despite no obvious biological benefits, humans love music. Neuroimaging studies highlight similarities between how the brain’s reward circuits process music and other rewards like food, money, and alcohol.

Yet neuroimaging studies are correlational by nature. [Read more…] about Why the brain enjoys music