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Category: neuroscience – Page 835

MIT researchers developed self-assembling proteins that can store ‘cellular memories’

The proteins can record histories of cellular events.

Researchers from MIT developed a technique to induce cells to record the history of cellular events in a long protein chain that can be imaged using a light microscope. The technique could help understand the critical steps involved in the processes, such as memory formation, response to drug treatment, and gene expression.

Studying the molecular processes within cells can provide important insights into their function and how they contribute to the overall functioning of an organ.

Design Cells/iStock.

“Biological systems are often composed of a large number of different types of cells. To understand those kinds of biological systems, we need to observe physiological events over time in these large cell populations,” said Changyang Linghu, Assistant Professor at the Michigan Neuroscience Institute and author of the study.

In a first, human brain organoids placed in the mouse cortex react to visual stimuli

“No other study has been able to record optically and electrically at the same time.”

Engineers and neuroscientists at the University of California, San Diego have shown for the first time that mice implanted with human brain organoids have functional connectivity to their cortex and respond to external sensory stimuli.

A novel experimental setup that combines transparent graphene microelectrode arrays and two-photon imaging allowed researchers to make this observation over a period of months in real time. The implanted organoids responded to visual stimuli in the same manner as surrounding tissues, according to the press release.

Researchers use virtual reality games to detect ADHD symptoms in children

Minor tweaks could expand its scope of applications to other conditions, such as autism.

Researchers used virtual reality (VR) games to diagnose attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) through differences in eye movements, according to a press release published by Aalto University. This method could potentially be utilized as a basis for ADHD treatment and, with minor tweaks, to assess other conditions like autism.

ADHD is a common attention disorder that affects six million U.S. children between the ages of 3 and 17 years, according to a national survey of parents.

Parkinson’s Breakthrough: Scientists Have Identified a Key Molecule

Adenosine, a neurotransmitter, has been found to act as a brake on dopamine, another neurotransmitter involved in motor control, by researchers at Oregon Health & Science University. The findings, which were published in the journal Nature, reveal that adenosine and dopamine operate in a push-pull dynamic in the brain.

“There are two neuronal circuits: one that helps promote action and the other that inhibits action,” said senior author Haining Zhong, Ph.D., a scientist with the OHSU Vollum Institute. “Dopamine promotes the first circuit to enable movement, and adenosine is the ‘brake’ that promotes the second circuit and brings balance to the system.”

The discovery has the potential to immediately suggest new avenues for drug development to treat the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease is a movement disorder that is believed to be caused by the loss of dopamine-producing cells in the brain.

Triplets graduate from Georgia Tech at 18 with neuroscience degrees

ATLANTA — Three years after being named the first-ever co-valedictorians at West Forsyth High School, the Kashlan triplets graduated from Georgia Tech at 18-years-old.

Adam, Zane, and Rommi Kashlan earned neuroscience degrees with minors in health and medical sciences. They completed their degrees a year early and with honors. The trio will head to Boston to work and conduct research at Harvard Medical School.

“Inseparable, right, guys?” Rommi laughed. “You can’t get away from me!”

What hasn’t natural selection eliminated mental disorders?

The College of Psychiatrists of Ireland Evolution and Psychiatry Special Interest Group welcomed Dr Randolph M Nesse to present a talk titled “Why hasn’t natural selection eliminated mental disorders: Knowing the five reasons improves clinical care as well as research” during their meeting on Friday, 4 February 2022.

The Special Interest Group is open to all College members and Psychiatry trainees.

Keep up to date on all College events on the CPsychI website: https://www.irishpsychiatry.ie/all-events/

New expansion microscopy methods magnify research’s impact

Unprecedented views of the interior of cells and other nanoscale structures are now possible thanks to innovations in expansion microscopy. The advancements could help provide future insight into neuroscience, pathology, and many other biological and medical fields.

In the paper “Magnify is a universal molecular anchoring strategy for ,” published Jan. 2 in the journal Nature Biotechnology, collaborators from Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh and Brown University describe new protocols for dubbed Magnify.

“Magnify can be a potent and accessible tool for the biotechnology community,” said Yongxin (Leon) Zhao, the Eberly Family Career Development Associate Professor of Biological Sciences.

Secrets to Aging Gracefully: Researchers Uncover Factors Linked to Optimal Aging

Findings underline the importance of a strength-based rather than a deficit-based focus on aging and older adults.

What are the keys to “successful” or optimal aging? A new study followed more than 7,000 middle-aged and older Canadians for approximately three years to identify the factors linked to well-being as we age.

They found that those who were female, married, physically active, and not obese and those who had never smoked, had higher incomes, and who did not have insomnia, heart disease or arthritis, were more likely to maintain excellent health across the study period and less likely to develop disabling cognitive, physical, or emotional problems.

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