To begin with, it was just anecdotal reports. Ear, nose and throat specialists from around the world were sharing their experiences on online message boards – they were all seeing a spike in patients experiencing anosmia, a loss of smell. The link with coronavirus was brought to public attention by specialists in the UK in...
Tag: <span>Neurons</span>
Scientists discover protective Alzheimer’s gene and develop rapid drug-testing platform
by Queen Mary, University of London A gene has been discovered that can naturally suppress the signs of Alzheimer’s Disease in human brain cells, in research led by Queen Mary University of London. The scientists have also developed a new rapid drug-screening system for treatments that could potentially delay or prevent the disease. The main...
To let neurons talk, immune cells clear paths through brain’s ‘scaffolding’
by University of California, San Francisco To make new memories, our brain cells first must find one another. Small protrusions that bud out from the ends of neurons’ long, branching tentacles dock neurons together so they can talk. These ports of cellular chatter—called synapses, and found in the trillions throughout the brain—allow us to represent...
Fever checks are a flawed way to flag Covid-19 cases. Experts say smell tests might help
By SHARON BEGLEY @sxbegleJULY 2, 2020 Workplaces do it. Newly reopened public libraries do it. LAX does it. Some restaurants, bars, and retail stores started doing it when governors let them serve customers again: Use temperature checks — almost always with “non-contact infrared thermometers” — to identify people who might have, and therefore spread, the...
Effects of Cell Death on Neurodegeneration
By Christy Cheung, MRes Neuronal cell death in the nervous system is a major contribution to neurodegenerative diseases. Despite occasional neuronal deaths during the process of aging, extensive neuronal cell death is rare in adults with a mature central nervous system (CNS). Nevertheless, there is an increased neuronal loss in patients with neurodegenerative diseases compared...
Artificial intelligence identifies, locates seizures in real-time
This gif was recorded during two seizures, one at 2950 seconds, the other at 9200. The top left animation is of EEG signals from three electrodes. The top right is a map of the inferred network. The third animation plots the Fiedler eigenvalue, the single value used to detect seizures using the network inference technique....
One-time treatment generates new neurons, eliminates Parkinson’s disease in mice
by University of California – San Diego Xiang-Dong Fu, Ph.D., has never been more excited about something in his entire career. He has long studied the basic biology of RNA, a genetic cousin of DNA, and the proteins that bind it. But a single discovery has launched Fu into a completely new field: neuroscience. For...
Genetic malfunction of brain astrocytes triggers migraine
by University of Zurich Neuroscientists of the University of Zurich shed a new light on the mechanisms responsible for familial migraine: They show that a genetic dysfunction in specific brain cells of the cingulate cortex area strongly influences head pain occurrence. Migraine is one of the most disabling disorders, affecting one in seven people and...
Study identifies pathways between memory and decisions
by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center New research from Cedars-Sinai has identified the pathways of neurons that help people retrieve information from memories and use that information to make decisions—a discovery that may aid development of future treatments for memory disorders that accompany certain conditions, like schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. The research, led by Ueli Rutishauser, Ph.D.,...
Stanford researchers develop artificial synapse that works with living cells
CREDIT: L.A. CICERO/STANFORD NEWS SERVICE In 2017, Stanford University researchers presented a new device that mimics the brain’s efficient and low-energy neural learning process. It was an artificial version of a synapse – the gap across which neurotransmitters travel to communicate between neurons – made from organic materials. In 2019, the researchers assembled nine of...