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Mapping functional connectivity in 3D artificial brain model

The human brain is less accessible than other organs because it is covered by a thick, hard skull. As a result, researchers have been limited to low-resolution imaging or analysis of brain signals measured outside the skull. This has proved to be a major hindrance in brain research, including research on developmental stages, causes of diseases, and their treatments. Recently, studies have been performed using primary neurons from rats or human-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to create artificial brain models that have been applied to investigate brain developmental processes and the causes of brain diseases. These studies are expected to play a key role to unlocking the mysteries of the brain.

In the past, artificial models were created and studied in 2D; however, in 2017, a research team from KIST developed a 3D artificial brain model that more closely resembled the real brain. Unfortunately, due to the absence of an analytical framework for studying signals in a 3D brain model, studies were limited to analyses of surface signals or had to reform the 3D structure to a flat shape. As such, tracking in a complex, interconnected artificial network remained a challenge.

The Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) announced that the research teams of Doctors Il-Joo Cho and Nakwon Choi have developed a that can apply precise non-destructive stimuli to a 3D artificial neural circuit and measure neural signals in real-time from multiple locations inside the model at the cellular level.

Children who lack sleep may experience detrimental impact on brain and cognitive development that persists over time

Elementary school-age children who get less than nine hours of sleep per night have significant differences in certain brain regions responsible for memory, intelligence and well-being compared to those who get the recommended nine to 12 hours of sleep per night, according to a new study led by University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers. Such differences correlated with greater mental health problems, like depression, anxiety, and impulsive behaviors, in those who lacked sleep. Inadequate sleep was also linked to cognitive difficulties with memory, problem solving and decision making. The findings were published today in the journal The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that aged six to 12 years of age sleep 9 to 12 hours per night on a regular basis to promote optimal health. Up until now, no studies have examined the long-lasting impact of insufficient sleep on the neurocognitive development of pre-teens.

To conduct the study, the researchers examined data that were collected from more than 8,300 children aged nine to 10 years who were enrolled in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. They examined MRI images, , and surveys completed by the participants and their parents at the time of enrollment and at a two-year follow-up visit at 11 to 12 years of age. Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the ABCD study is the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the U.S.

Gene that causes deadliest brain tumor also causes childhood cancers, new research shows

A gene that University of Virginia (UVA) Health researchers have discovered is responsible for the deadliest type of brain tumor is also responsible for two forms of childhood cancer, the scientists have found.

The new discovery may open the door to the first targeted treatments for two types of , a cancer of the soft tissue that primarily strikes young children.

The gene may also play an important role in other cancers that form in muscle, fat, nerves and other connective tissues in both children and adults, the research suggests.

Doctor & Engineer Discuss Neuralink & Computer-Brain Interfaces | Dr Sid Warrier

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A “Nano-Robot” Built Entirely from DNA to Explore Cell Processes

Constructing a tiny robot from DNA and using it to study cell processes invisible to the naked eye
 You would be forgiven for thinking it is science fiction, but it is in fact the subject of serious research by scientists from Inserm, CNRS and UniversitĂ© de Montpellier at the Structural Biology Center in Montpellier[1]. This highly innovative “nano-robot” should enable closer study of the mechanical forces applied at microscopic levels, which are crucial for many biological and pathological processes. It is described in a new study published in Nature Communications.

Our cells are subject to mechanical forces exerted on a microscopic scale, triggering biological signals essential to many cell processes involved in the normal functioning of our body or in the development of diseases.

For example, the feeling of touch is partly conditional on the application of mechanical forces on specific cell receptors (the discovery of which was this year rewarded by the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine).

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