by University of Cambridge New research, published today in Nature, reveals how increasing brain stiffness as we age causes brain stem cell dysfunction, and demonstrates new ways to reverse older stem cells to a younger, healthier state. The results have far reaching implications for how we understand the ageing process, and how we might develop...
Tag: <span>brain cells</span>
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Astrocytes protect neurons from toxic buildup
by Howard Hughes Medical Institute Astrocytes are overtaxed neurons’ pit crew. The brain cells collect damaged lipids secreted by hyperactive neurons, then recycle those toxic molecules into energy, researchers at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus report May 23, 2019, in the journal Cell. It’s a mechanism to protect neurons from the damaging side effects of overactivity. And it’s another important role for astrocytes, which support neurons in various...
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Like submicroscopic spacecrafts: graphene flakes to control neuron activity
Selective, safe and with a reversible effect: they are the nanomaterials, protagonists of a new study which has shed light on their ability to reach specific sites and affect the action of brain cells SCUOLA INTERNAZIONALE SUPERIORE DI STUDI AVANZATI Like in a science fiction novel, miniscule spacecrafts able to reach a specific site of the brain and...
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‘Chemo brain’ caused by malfunction in three types of brain cells, Stanford study finds
More than half of cancer survivors suffer from cognitive impairment from chemotherapy that lingers for months or years after the cancer is gone. In a new study explaining the cellular mechanisms behind this condition, scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have demonstrated that a widely used chemotherapy drug, methotrexate, causes a complex set...
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Mutation in common protein triggers tangles, chaos inside brain cells
MADISON, Wis. — A pioneer in the study of neural cells revealed today (Oct. 23, 2018) how a single mutation affecting the most common protein in a supporting brain cell produces devastating, fibrous globs. These, in turn, disturb the location of cellular processing units, harm the flow of energy and signals through the brain, and...
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Vicious circle leads to loss of brain cells in old age
Researchers at the University of Bonn determine how dangerous inflammations in the brain are caused UNIVERSITY OF BONN The so-called CB1 receptor is responsible for the intoxicating effect of cannabis. However, it appears to act also as a kind of “sensor” with which neurons measure and control the activity of certain immune cells in the brain....
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Scientists fix genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease in human brain cells
PET scan of a human brain with Alzheimer’s disease. Using human brain cells, scientists at the Gladstone Institutes discovered the cause of—and a potential solution for—the primary genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, a gene called apoE4. Having one copy of the apoE4 gene more than doubles a person’s likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease, and...
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Turning brain cells into skin cells
Researchers transform mature cells from the brain, heart and more into skin cells A new study published in Nature Communicationsreveals that it is possible to repurpose the function of different mature cells across the body — and harvest new tissue and organs from these cells. The research tracks the transformation of genetically manipulated cells into melanocytes,...
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New kinds of brain cells revealed
Under a microscope, it can be hard to tell the difference between any two neurons, the brain cells that store and process information. So scientists have turned to molecular methods to try to identify groups of neurons with different functions. Now, Salk Institute and University of California San Diego scientists have, for the first time,...
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Your Brain Cells Could Be Reprogrammed to Fight Parkinson’s Disease
IN BRIEF Researchers have reprogrammed existing brain cells in mice into dopamine neurons to reduce their symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. This novel approach could be used to treat Parkinson’s disease with stem cells which are not transplanted, but induced from patients’ own brain cells. SUPPORT CELLS TURNED SUPER CELLS Parkinson’s disease is one of the...