Lifeboat Foundation

The brain’s processing of reading is fascinating.

Reading is a fascinating process that engages many regions of our brain. We all know it’s an essential skill, but did you know that reading is like weightlifting for our minds? The more we read, the stronger our neural connections become, and the better we get at it. But what happens in our brains when we read? Scientists have been trying to answer this question for years, and a new study has finally shed some light on the matter.

A groundbreaking study led by neuroscientist Oscar Woolnough from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston shed new light on how our brains process language. According to the research, two distinct brain networks get activated while reading.

Among the biggest environmental problems of our time, micro-and nanoplastic particles (MNPs) can enter the body in various ways, including through food. And now for the first time, research conducted at MedUni Vienna has shown how these minute particles manage to breach the blood-brain barrier and as a consequence penetrate the brain. The newly discovered mechanism provides the basis for further research to protect humans and the environment.

Published in the journal Nanomaterials, the study was carried out in an animal model with oral administration of MNPs, in this case polystyrene, a widely-used plastic which is also found in food packaging. Led by Lukas Kenner (Department of Pathology at MedUni Vienna and Department of Laboratory Animal Pathology at Vetmeduni) and Oldamur Hollóczki (Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Debrecen, Hungary) the research team was able to determine that tiny polystyrene particles could be detected in the brain just two hours after ingestion.

The mechanism that enabled them to breach the blood-brain barrier was previously unknown to medical science. “With the help of computer models, we discovered that a certain surface structure (biomolecular corona) was crucial in enabling plastic particles to pass into the brain,” Oldamur Hollóczki explained.

A stroke occurs when an artery in the brain becomes blocked or bursts. The brain cells beyond the blockage or bleed are deprived of oxygen and nutrients, so are damaged or die.

Scientists have been trying to find ways to minimize the damage following a stroke and speed up recovery.

Now, a study led by scientists from Weill Cornell Medicine has found changes in gene activity in small blood vessels following a stroke. The findings suggest that these changes could be targeted with existing or future drugs to mitigate brain injury or improve stroke recovery.

Here’s how biology creates electronics.

Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring your photos, docs, and videos anywhere and share them easily. Never email yourself a file again!

Fused neurons suggest ctenophores’ nervous system evolved independently of that in other animals.

The myth that humans only use 10 per cent of their brains is exactly that — a myth.

It’s a mistruth that’s been misattributed to the likes of Albert Einstein over the years. In reality, humans actually use a lot of their brain pretty much all the time, but our understanding of exactly how they actually work is changing all the time.

Organoids aren’t nearly as complex as their full-sized counterparts, but they’re useful for research — scientists can study organ development, monitor disease progression, and even test new treatments on them.

What’s new: When human embryos are about five weeks old, they develop structures called “optic cups” that will eventually become retinas.

Researchers have grown optic cups in the lab before, and they’ve also grown mini brains. Now, researchers at University Hospital Düsseldorf have grown brain organoids with optic cups.

In this episode, my guest is Oded Rechavi, Ph.D., professor of neurobiology at Tel Aviv University and expert in how genes are inherited, how experiences shape genes and remarkably, how some memories of experiences can be passed via genes to offspring. We discuss his research challenging long-held tenets of genetic inheritance and the relevance of those findings to understanding key biological and psychological processes including metabolism, stress and trauma. He describes the history of the scientific exploration of the “heritability of acquired traits” and how epigenetics and RNA biology can account for some of the passage of certain experience-based memories. He discusses the importance of model organisms in scientific research and describes his work on how stressors and memories can be passed through small RNA molecules to multiple generations of offspring in ways that meaningfully affect their behavior. Nature vs. nurture is a commonly debated theme; Dr. Rechavi’s work represents a fundamental shift in our understanding of that debate, as well as genetic inheritance, brain function and evolution.

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