by University of California – Berkeley An illustration of a brain cell in a person with Alzheimer’s disease, showing the accumulation and clumping of tau proteins (blue squiggles) in the cytoplasm of a brain cell. Protein clumps, also known as aggregates, are thought to lead to cell death and dementia. New research suggests that such clumps...
Using lasers and a holographic two-photon microscope that can peer deep into the brain, scientists have identified and activated a small handful of cells among the hundreds of millions in a mouse’s amygdala, a part of the brain that helps govern behavior. An image grabbed from a video recording the activation of neurons in a...
Scientists found the cells in mice — and say they could lead to a better understanding of human appetite. Carissa Wong Credit: Nishant Sharma/Getty Brain cells that control how quickly mice eat, and when they stop, have been identified. The findings, published in Nature1, could lead to a better understanding of human appetite, the researchers...
by The Francis Crick Institute Astrocytes, endothelial cells, pericytes and microglia expression of ‘entry factors’ (ACE2, TMPRSS2, NRP1 and CD147) which are receptors in the cells that the COVID-19 virus uses to enter, as shown by the colors in the image. Credit: Alize Proust, Journal of Neuroinflammation Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have shown in lab-based...
by University of Queensland Credit: The EMBO Journal (2023). DOI: 10.15252/embj.2022112095 Researchers from The University of Queensland have determined how Botox—a drug made from a deadly biological substance—enters brain cells. Professor Frederic Meunier and Dr. Merja Joensuu at UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute have discovered the specific molecular mechanism by which the highly deadly Botulinum neurotoxin type-A, more widely...
by Garvan Institute of Medical Research Researchers have pinpointed a subset of neurons (green) in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus that drive appetite under obesity. Credit: Dr Yue Qi A team at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research has discovered a group of brain cells that boosts appetite when there is a prolonged surplus of energy in the body,...
by University of Tsukuba Credit: Ukki Studio/Shutterstock A good night’s sleep can work wonders for both mind and body. But what is it that determines how much we need to sleep, and what can cause us to sleep more deeply? In a new study, researchers from the University of Tsukuba have now provided some answers,...
by University College London Schematic of the Activity-dependent Gene Therapy. Credit: Gabriele Lignani A new treatment for neurological and psychiatric diseases, that works by reducing the excitability of overactive brain cells, has been developed by UCL researchers. Many brain diseases, such as epilepsy, are caused by excessive activity of a small number of brain cells. These...
Specific neurons in the brain may drive our overeating behavior. mikroman6/Getty Images Researchers investigated the neural activity underlying the consumption of fatty and sugary foods and activity levels. They looked at the effect of a specific cluster of neurons in the brain’s emotional center—the amygdala— on energy consumption and energy expenditure. They tested this by turning...
UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN – THE FACULTY OF HEALTH AND MEDICAL SCIENCES If you thought it was easy to analyse brain cells, think again. When you take a brain tissue sample, all that your analysis would normally show you is an average for all the cell types present. And since there is a whole lot of...
