by Laura Frnka-Davis, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston In silico sequence- and structure-based analysis of variants in candidate genes. Credit: Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-54911-w Recent research led by UTHealth Houston scientists has uncovered two genes associated with variants linked to epilepsy, which showed specific traits that make them promising diagnostic biomarkers. The study is published in Nature...
Category: <span>Research Updates</span>
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Cells all over the body store ‘memories’: What does this mean for health?
Share on PinterestDo all our cells have a type of memory, and if so, how might this influence health? We investigate. Design by MNT; Photography by Grant Faint/Getty Images & Ed Reschke/Getty Images. Memory is one of the most crucial aspects of our health and human identity. Through memory, we create our individuality, our specific relationships...
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Why don’t new memories overwrite old ones? Sleep science holds clues
Research in mice points towards a mechanism that avoids ‘catastrophic forgetting’. Artificially coloured nerve fibres in a mouse’s hippocampus, the brain region where new memories are encoded.Credit: Mark & Mary Stevens Neuroimaging & Informatics Institute/Science Photo Library New clues have emerged in the mystery of how the brain avoids ‘catastrophic forgetting’ — the distortion and...
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New GFR formula offers better diagnosis of hyperfiltration in elderly patients
Reviewed Osaka Metropolitan UniversityJan 6 2025 Annual health checkups regularly include urine tests that serve several purposes, including checking for symptoms of kidney disease. The presence of albumin in the urine is one indicator as is glomerular filtration rate. In diabetic nephropathy, albuminuria first appears, leading to excessive filtration and eventually a decrease in GFR....
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ELECTRONIC TATTOO DECODES BRAINWAVES
JANUARY 3RD, 2025POSTED BY UT AUSTIN (Credit: UT Austin) SHARE THIS ARTICLE You are free to share this article under the Attribution 4.0 International license. TAGS UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN A new conductive ink can be printed directly on the surface of a patient’s head and measure their brainwaves. Since the emergence of temporary, skin-attached...
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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY NEWS
Uncovering why some seizures cause loss of consciousness Posted Yesterday In temporal lobe epilepsy — a common and debilitating form of the disorder — seizures often cause those affected to lose consciousness. But why that happens has been unclear. Brain stimulation – artistic interpretation. In a new study, Yale researchers show that levels of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that plays...
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Labeling cell particles with barcodes
Posted Today Cell-to-cell communication through nanosized particles, working as messengers and carriers, can now be analyzed in a whole new way, thanks to a new method involving CRISPR gene-editing technology. The particles, known as small extracellular vesicles (sEVs), play an important role in the spread of disease and as potential drug carriers. The newly developed system,...
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Gene expression study reveals human brain cell types becoming more specialized, not just more numerous
by Harrison Tasoff, University of California – Santa Barbara Differences in gene expression, not just their presence, seem to drive the remarkable specialization found in the human brain. Credit: Matt Perko Our brain is arguably the organ that most distinguishes humans from other primates. Its exceptional size, complexity and capabilities far exceed those of any other...
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Urinary Metals Linked to Increased Dementia Risk
Edited by Anushree Chaphalkar December 31, 2024 0130 TOPLINE: Higher levels of environmental metals in urine are associated with poorer cognitive performance and an increased risk for dementia, new research suggests. METHODOLOGY: TAKEAWAY: IN PRACTICE: “We found an inverse association of essential and nonessential metals in urine, both individually and as a mixture, with the...
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Achilles Heel’ of Drug-Resistant Bacteria Has Been Found, Scientists Say
Health30 December 2024 ByTessa Koumoundouros Bacillus subtilis bacteria with green fluorescence indicating a lack of magnesium. (Ashley Moon, Süel Lab, UC San Diego) New tactics in controlling infection are sorely needed, with antibiotic-resistant bacteria expected to claim as many as 2 million lives each year by 2050. US and Spanish researchers have now discovered at least some bacteria pay...