The breakthrough wasn’t speed or scale, but a neural architecture that finally respected protein geometry.
AlphaFold didn’t accelerate biology by running faster experiments. It changed the engineering assumptions behind protein structure prediction.
Category: neuroscience – Page 94
How the nervous system activates repair after spinal cord injury
Through in vivo enhancer screening, the researchers also demonstrate that injury-responsive enhancers can selectively target reactive astrocytes across the CNS using therapeutically relevant gene delivery vectors.
“We have shown how cells read these instructions through a code that tells them how to react to injury. This code combines signals from general stress factors with the cell’s own identity,” explains the researcher.
After a spinal cord injury, cells in the brain and spinal cord change to cope with stress and repair tissue. A new study published in Nature Neuroscience, shows that this response is controlled by specific DNA sequences. This knowledge could help develop more targeted treatments.
When the central nervous system is damaged – for example, in a spinal cord injury – many cells become reactive. This means they change their function and activate genes that protect and repair tissue. However, how this process is regulated has long been unclear.
Researchers have now mapped thousands of so-called enhancers; small DNA sequences that act like ‘switches’ for genes, turning them on or boosting their activity.
World’s first 3D-printed brain tissue that mirrors human brain function
🧠💡 Thinking about organ transplants?
🔬 A team of scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has achieved a groundbreaking milestone!
🌐 They’ve developed the world’s first 3D-printed brain tissue that mirrors human brain function.
🚀 This is a giant leap forward for research into neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders.
🖨️ Utilizing a horizontal layering technique and a softer bio-ink, this 3D-printing method allows neurons to weave together, forming networks similar to those in the human brain.
🔍 This precision in controlling cell types and arrangements opens new doors for studying neurological conditions, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Scientists 3D Print Human Brain Tissue for the First Time
#HumanBrain #TechNews #3DPrinter
Activation of Dopamine D1 Receptors at the Axon Initial Segment-Like Process of Retinal AII Amacrine Cells Modulates Action Potential Firing
JNeurosci: Results from Veruki et al. show that activation of D1 receptors in rats reduces the excitability of AII amacrines by increasing the threshold of action potential initiation, suggesting a new role for DA in the retina.
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Dopamine is an important neuromodulator found throughout the central nervous system that can influence neural circuits involved in sensory, motor, and cognitive functions. In the retina, dopamine is released by specific amacrine cells and plays a role in reconfiguring circuits for photopic vision. This adaptation takes place both in photoreceptors and at postreceptoral sites. The AII amacrine cell, which plays a crucial role for transmission of both scotopic and photopic visual signals, has been considered an important target of dopaminergic modulation, expressed as a change in the strength of electrical coupling mediated by gap junctions between the AIIs. It has been difficult, however, to find clear evidence for expression of dopamine receptors by AII amacrines.
Stem cell-mediated recovery in stroke: partnering with the immune system
In this Review, Saef Izzy and colleagues examine the therapeutic potential of stem cells in stroke, with a focus on neural and mesenchymal stem cells. They explore how these stem cells interact with brain immune cells to modulate the inflammatory microenvironment, restore blood–brain barrier integrity and promote tissue repair following a stroke.
Online psychoeducation underperforms existing digital cognitive behavioral therapy in trial
Big Health Inc, along with paid academic investigators, reports higher remission rates and lower anxiety symptom scores with their smartphone-delivered digital cognitive behavioral therapy, DaylightRx, compared with an online psychoeducation, also created by Big Health Inc.
Generalized anxiety disorder involves excessive, persistent, and uncontrollable anxiety with lifetime prevalence reported as 6%, alongside reduced quality of life, impaired social and occupational functioning, and increased health care utilization.
Cognitive behavioral therapy and pharmacotherapy are considered first-line treatments. Despite strong tolerability, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness, access remains limited due to a shortage of trained therapists, time burdens, and stigma.