Toggle light / dark theme

New nanoparticles deliver therapy throughout the brain and edit Alzheimer’s gene in mice

Gene therapies have the potential to treat neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, but they face a common barrier—the blood-brain barrier. Now, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a way to move therapies across the brain’s protective membrane to deliver brain-wide therapy with a range of biological medications and treatments.

“There is no cure yet for many devastating disorders,” says Shaoqin “Sarah” Gong, UW-Madison professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences and biomedical engineering and researcher at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery. “Innovative brain-targeted delivery strategies may change that by enabling noninvasive, safe and efficient delivery of CRISPR genome editors that could, in turn, lead to genome-editing therapies for these diseases.”

CRISPR is a molecular toolkit for editing (for example, to correct mutations that may cause disease), but the toolkit is only useful if it can get through security to the job site. The is a membrane that selectively controls access to the brain, screening out toxins and pathogens that may be present in the bloodstream. Unfortunately, the bars some beneficial treatments, like certain vaccines and gene therapy packages, from reaching their targets because in lumps them in with hostile invaders.

Study points to link between schizophrenia and vascular alterations in the brain

A study conducted in Brazil and reported in an article published in Molecular Psychiatry suggests that schizophrenia may be associated with alterations in the vascularization of certain brain regions. Researchers at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), D’Or Research and Education Institute (IDOR) and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) found a link between astrocytes (central nervous system cells) from patients with schizophrenia and formation of narrow blood vessels.

Schizophrenia is a severe multifactorial mental health disorder affecting around 1% of the world population. Common symptoms include loss of contact with reality (psychosis), hallucinations (hearing voices, for example), delusions or delirium, disorganized motor behavior, loss of motivation and cognitive impairment.

In the study, the researchers focused on the role of astrocytes in development of the disease. These glial cells are housekeepers of the central nervous system and important to its defense. They are the central elements of the neurovascular units that integrate neural circuitry with local blood flow and provide neurons with metabolic support.

Rekindi #29 — Bioelectricity, Regeneration, Cancer Suppression & Xenobots — with Michael Levin

Michael Levin is an American developmental and synthetic biologist at Tufts University. His research interests include: bioelectrical signals by which cells communicate to serve the dynamic anatomical needs of the organism during development, regeneration, and cancer suppression; basal cognition and intelligence in diverse unconventional substrates; and top-down control of form and function across scales in biology.

Join us as we discuss.
- Bioelectricity.
- Regeneration.
- The future in medicine.
- The act of free will and more.

EPISODE LINKS:
Michael’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/drmichaellevin.
Michael’s Website: https://drmichaellevin.org.
Michael’s Publications: https://facultyprofiles.tufts.edu/michael-levin-1/publications.

PODCAST INFO:
Podcast website: https://www.rekindi.com/podcasts.
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/rekindi-podcast/id1550253946
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1Gn2DZjxvLnZ88bh2fgLWn?si=c714c46c9d09449a

Researchers find a protein that’s involved in helping control the architecture of connections between neurons

Our ability to learn, move, and sense our world comes from the neurons in our brain. This information moves through our brain between neurons that are linked together by tens of trillions of tiny structures called synapses. Although tiny, synapses are not simple and must be precisely organized to function properly. Indeed, diseases like autism and Alzheimer’s are increasingly linked to defects in the organization and number of these tiny structures. Now researchers at Thomas Jefferson University have found a new way in which synapses organization is controlled, which could eventually lead to better treatments for neurological diseases.

Researchers who study how grow and are lost have long focused on a molecule called PSD-95, which helps create and maintain the scaffolding around which a synapse is built. A new paper, publishing in Nature Neuroscience October 19th, reveals that a second protein interacts with PSD-95 and enables adaptive changes, such as changes in sensation, to be translated into changes in the synaptic scaffold, changing the amount of PSD-95 at the synapse.

“We can’t see or learn or talk without synapses working properly,” says senior author Matthew Dalva, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Neuroscience at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University and the Farber Institute of Neuroscience at Jefferson and leader of the Theme Team for Synapse Biology. “We need a better understanding of how the works normally in order to develop a better sense of where to intervene to stop or cure diseases of the brain. It’s important to understand how these molecules interact.”

Squid and human brains develop the same way despite diverging 500 million years ago

Scientists who watched nerve cells connect inside the eyes of growing squid have uncovered a remarkable secret — the cephalopods’ brains independently evolved to develop in the same way ours do.

.The discovery, made using high-resolution cameras focused on the retinas of longfin squid (Doryteuthis pealeii) embryos, reveals that, in spite of 500 million years of divergent evolution, the basic blueprint for how complex brains and nervous systems evolve may be the same across a wide range of species.

The intelligence of cephalopods — a class of marine animals that includes octopuses, squid and cuttlefish — has long been a subject of fascination among biologists. Unlike most invertebrates, these animals possess remarkable memories; use tools to solve problems; excel at camouflage; react with curiosity, boredom or even playful malevolence to their surroundings; and can dream, if the ripples of colors that flash across their skin as they sleep are any indication.


It seems that the blueprint for complex brain development remains the same, despite 500 million years of divergent evolution.

Researchers discover a link between bacteria in the mouth and deadly brain abscesses

The inside of a person’s mouth can say a lot about their overall health. Studies have established links between poor oral health and conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure and pneumonia. Now, a new study shows there’s a connection to the brain. Researchers in the U.K. found certain bacteria in the mouth may cause deadly brain abscesses.

Wireless brain implant monitors neurotransmitters in real-time

Scientists have developed a wireless, battery-free implant capable of monitoring dopamine signals in the brain in real-time in small animal models, an advance that could aid in understanding the role neurochemicals play in neurological disorders.

The , detailed in a study published in ACS Nano, activates or inhibits specific neurons in the using light, a technique known as optogenetic stimulation. It also records dopamine activity in freely behaving subjects without the need for bulky or prohibitive sensing equipment, said John Rogers, Ph.D., the Louis Simpson and Kimberly Querrey Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Neurological Surgery, and a co-author of the study.

“This device allows neuroscientists to monitor and modulate in and in a programmable fashion, in mice—a very important class of animal model for neuroscience studies,” Rogers said.

Ryan Raut: Linking Brain States and Brain Networks through Traveling Waves

Dr. Ryan Raut talks to us about some of his recent work on brain states and brain networks, linking them through synchronized traveling waves:
https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciadv.abf2709
https://www.pnas.org/content/117/34/20890.short.

This video is part of the SNAC Chat series organized by Mac Shine, Joe Lizier, Ben Fulcher, and Oliver Cliff (The University of Sydney).

SNAC Chats are less formal and more interactive than the typical seminars hosted by the Sydney Systems Neuroscience and Complexity (SNAC) group.

Meet the Mexican girl with an IQ higher than Einstein’s

Mexico City.- At just eight years old, Adhara Perez is the girl who exceeded the IQ of Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking with 162. She dreams of being an astronaut one day, but she came to think that this would be impossible.

When she was three years old, the little girl from the slums of Tlahuac, in Mexico City, was diagnosed with Asperger (autism spectrum). “I made a mockery at school”, she said.

Her classmates called her “weird” and the teachers came to think that she would not have much future in the academy. Nallely Sanchez, mother of the child, did not realize the situation and did not want her daughter to suffer.

/* */