Brain

For the first time researchers have shown that a commonly used anesthetic can produce changes associated with Alzheimer's disease in the brains of living mammals, confirming previous laboratory studies. In their Annals of Neurology report, which has received early online release, a team of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators shows how administration of the gas isoflurane can lead to generation of the toxic amyloid-beta (A-beta) protein in the brains of mice.

Schools across the country now have free access to an innovative set of teaching tools designed to increase the understanding of science, health, and diabetes among American Indian and Alaska Native students from kindergarten through the 12th grade. The comprehensive new curriculum, called "Health is Life in Balance," is being launched today at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

Dale Kunkel, communication professor at The University of Arizona, was one of the lead researchers in a new study by Children Now, which shows that only 1 in 8 children's education TV programs meet high quality standards.

The study, entitled "Educationally/Insufficient? An Analysis of the Educational Quality & Availability of Children's E/I Programming," evaluated the quality of programs claimed as educational/informational (E/I) by commercial stations.

Chestnut Hill, MA – November 12, 2008 – A new study in the journal Mind, Brain, and Education reveals that certain types of thinking are best suited to solving certain types of problems. Specifically, geometry problems are best solved by a combination of verbal and spatial strategies, but not shape-based imagery strategies.

Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong – November 12, 2008 –Many methods and strategies can be used to promote sales in addition to simply lowering price. One strategy, the "lucky draw," entitles all buyers to be entered in a drawing for some valued commodity. Using a test that probed consumers' beliefs in luck, Gerard Prendergast and Edmund Thompson investigated the question of who the best prospects are for "lucky draw" in their article appearing in the journal Psychology & Marketing.

In a new study, researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI), McGill University, and the Université de Montréal have discovered an essential mechanism for the maintenance of the normal structure of myelin, the protective covering that insulates and supports nerve cells (neurons). Up until now, very little was known about myelin maintenance.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Chinese Americans, one of the most highly educated groups in the nation, are confronted by a "glass ceiling," unable to realize full occupational stature and success to match their efforts, concludes a new study from the University of Maryland.

Nov. 11, 2008 -- Scientists have shown for the first time that neuroprosthetic brain implants may be able to help stroke patients with partial paralysis.

Researchers found that implants known as brain-computer interfaces (BCI) may be able to detect activity on one side of the brain that is linked to hand and arm movements on the same side of the body. They hope to use these signals to guide motorized assistance mechanisms that restore mobility in partially paralyzed limbs.

ST. LOUIS -- Saint Louis University researchers have identified a novel way of getting a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease and stroke into the brain where it can do its work.

"We found a unique approach for delivering drugs to the brain," says William A. Banks, M.D., professor of geriatrics and pharmacological and physiological science at Saint Louis University. "We're turning off the guardian that's keeping the drugs out of the brain."

Increased use of computers to create predictive models of human disease is likely following a workshop organised by the European Science Foundation (ESF), which urged for a collaborative effort between specialists in the field. Human disease research produces an enormous amount of data from different sources such as animal models, high throughput genetic screening of human tissue, and in vitro laboratory experiments.

ST. LOUIS – News articles that stress African-American health disparities, like higher cancer mortality rates than other groups, may discourage black patients from being screened for cancer, according to a Saint Louis University study. Instead, they are more likely to be tested for cancer after hearing positive messages that emphasize progress made among African-American cancer patients.

ST. LOUIS -- Saint Louis University researchers have identified a novel way of getting a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease and stroke into the brain where it can do its work.

"We found a unique approach for delivering drugs to the brain," says William A. Banks, M.D., professor of geriatrics and pharmacological and physiological science at Saint Louis University. "We're turning off the guardian that's keeping the drugs out of the brain."

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., NOV. 12, 2008 – The United States is failing hundreds of thousands of its youngest citizens on the day they are born, according to the March of Dimes.

In the first of what will be an annual Premature Birth Report Card, the nation received a "D" and not a single state earned an "A," when the March of Dimes compared actual preterm birth rates to the national Healthy People 2010 objective.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Scientists have long known that women's preferences for masculine men change throughout their menstrual cycles. A new study from Indiana University's Kinsey Institute is the first to demonstrate differences in brain activity as women considered masculinized and feminized male faces and whether the person was a potential sexual partner.

A new study published in this week's PLoS Biology could have significant consequences for neural tissue transplantation to treat brain injuries or neural degeneration. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies report that inactivating a specific gene in adult neural stem cells makes nerve cells emerging from those precursors form connections in the wrong part of the adult brain.