by The Scripps Research Institute A new study challenges the presumption that people born with developmental brain disorders such as severe autism will benefit from medical interventions only if treated during a narrow window in infancy or early childhood. Writing in the journal eLife, an open-access scientific journal, the Rumbaugh lab at Scripps Research in Florida reports improvement in...
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Urine test could prevent cervical cancer
by Mike Addelman, University of Manchester Urine testing may be as effective as the smear test at preventing cervical cancer, according to new research by University of Manchester scientists. The study, led by Dr. Emma Crosbie and published in BMJ Open, found that urine testing was just as good as the cervical smear at picking up high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus...
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A drug for autism? Potential treatment for Pitt-Hopkins syndrome offers clues
by Daniel R. Weinberger, The Conversation In 2019, geeks are cool, and the idea that they might be on the autism spectrum is celebrated. Nowhere is this truer than in Silicon Valley, one of the few places in America where social quirkiness and laser focus attention to detail are more often rewarded than criticized. Often lauded...
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Patent issued to device with potential to detect early symptoms of Alzheimer’s, cognitive impairment
by Renee Kelly, University of Maine The University of Maine was recently issued a patent, US 10,244,977, for a device that detects brain injury by measuring sleep movement patterns. This technology will be licensed by Activas Diagnostics, a UMaine spin-off company. The invention is a fitted mattress sheet equipped with more than a dozen sensors that will allow it to gather...
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Scientists found new drugs for stroke and dementia in the shelves of pharmacies
Recovering after stroke is extremely difficult. Not only you have to try to live with the changes presented by the disease, you also have to understand the risk of developing a secondary stroke at any time. A team of scientists led by the Universities of Edinburgh and Nottingham have just made a step towards better treatments that prevent recurrence of types...
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How the olfactory brain affects memory
RUHR-UNIVERSITY BOCHUM How sensory perception in the brain affects learning and memory processes is far from fully understood. Two neuroscientists of Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) have discovered a new aspect of how the processing of odours impacts memory centres. They showed that the piriform cortex – a part of the olfactory brain – has a direct influence on information storage in our most important memory structure, the hippocampus....
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A simple solution to a complex problem
UNIVERSITY OF FREIBURG A team headed by Dr. Claudia Jessen-Trefzer of the University of Freiburg’s Institute for Pharmaceuticals Sciences has for the first time identified a transport protein in mycobacteria which is responsible for the uptake of the nutrient L-arabinofuranose. The lead authors of the study, Miaomiao Li of the Institute for Pharmaceuticals Sciences, Christoph...
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Diving into the details: A lipid-binding pocket is a target for new cancer therapies
Understanding the molecular details of protein function allows researchers to identify critical residues that can be targeted with rational drug design to develop better cancer therapeutics MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA Normal cells have a complex system of checks and balances that regulate cell division. In cancer, the balance is tipped in favor of cell proliferation. This imbalance arises from...
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Alzheimer’s in minibrains
by Ruhr-Universitaet-Bochum In the majority of cases, dementia can be traced back to Alzheimer’s disease. Its causes are not really understood yet. What is known is that plaques form from misfolded proteins and that there is an increase in neuronal cell death levels in the brain. However, the plaques don’t necessarily go hand in hand with any...
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Oral contraceptives may protect against serious knee injuries in women
by Taylor & Francis Oral contraceptives may lower the risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears in women, according to a large observational study involving over 165,000 female patients (aged 15-49), published in The Physician and Sportsmedicine journal. The study, analyzing a decade of prescription and insurance information from a large national US database, found that oral contraceptives were most protective in young women aged 15-19 years, who...