Researchers say they have linked shorter telomeres on white blood cells to higher dementia risk, although outside experts say there are limitations to this study.
A breakthrough technique developed by University of Oxford researchers could one day provide tailored repairs for those who suffer brain injuries. The researchers have demonstrated for the first time that neural cells can be 3D-printed to mimic the architecture of the cerebral cortex. The results have been published in the journal Nature Communications.
Brain injuries, including those caused by trauma, stroke, and surgery for brain tumors, typically result in significant damage to the cerebral cortex (the outer layer of the human brain), leading to difficulties in cognition, movement and communication. For example, each year, around 70 million people globally suffer from traumatic brain injury (TBI), with 5 million of these cases being severe or fatal. Currently, there are no effective treatments for severe brain injuries, leading to serious impacts on quality of life.
Tissue regenerative therapies, especially those in which patients are given implants derived from their own stem cells, could be a promising route to treat brain injuries in the future. Up to now, however, there has been no method to ensure that implanted stem cells mimic the architecture of the brain.
âAs I was racking my brains for a way to make keyboards more portable and fashionable, I had an aha moment. Carrying around a keyboard was a closed-minded idea.â
In yet another episode of âCool stuff the Japanese come up withâ, Google Japan has once again taken a playful detour from the mundane with its latest creation: the Gboard CAPS.
While this head-mounted keyboard integrated into a baseball hat may sound like the stuff of sci-fi or the whimsical fantasies of keyboard enthusiasts, the Gboard CAPS project is real, and designed with a delightful touch of humor.
It turns out there is a correlation between odors and colors that is quite commonplace.
An example of synesthesia, a perceptual phenomena when activation of one sensory or cognitive pathway results in involuntary experiences in another, is the idea of âsmell colorâ or connecting odors with colors. In this situation, those who experience âsmell-color synesthesia,â a particular form of synesthesia, may think that odors have corresponding colors.
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More commonplace.
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The challenge: There are very few ways to slow down Alzheimerâs disease or treat its symptoms, and thereâs no cure â in 2021, nearly 120,000 Americans died from Alzheimerâs complications, making it one of the top 10 leading causes of death.
One genetic variant in particular â called APOE-e4 â is strongly tied to the brain disease. Having one copy makes a person 2â3 times more likely to develop Alzheimerâs, while having two copies (one from each parent) increases the risk by 8â12 times.