Brain

Hotel guests can be gently persuaded to reduce the number of towels they use each day, psychology researchers at the University of Luxembourg have found. With fewer towels to wash, this reduces the waste of water, energy and detergent. This is good news for the environment and it cuts costs, so enabling hotels to reduce prices.

This news release is available in German.

The study was published in the international scientific journal PLOS ONE on 13 March 2014.

This news release is available in German.

In his third major research paper since December 2013, IST Austria Professor Peter Jonas together with his collaborator, postdoc Hua Hu, identifies a new subcellular mechanism for reliable, fast transmission in the so-called basket cells of the brain. The results will be published on the website of Nature Neuroscience on March 23, 2014 (DOI 10.1038/nn.3678)

Prions are infectious agents responsible for neurodegenerative diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalitis (commonly known as "mad cow disease") and Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease in humans.

What sort of leader are you? Do you think leading is all about a laser-like focus on the task, watching the bottom line and making sure everyone is doing what they should? Or is it about listening to your team, being open to ideas and perspectives, and inspiring them to find their own niche?

Studies have shown that the differentiation rate of grafted bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells into mature neuron-like cells is very low. Therefore, it is very important to establish an effcient and stable induction protocol to promote the differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells into neuron-like cells in vitro and elucidate the mechanisms underlying differentiation for the treatment of central nervous system diseases.

Preliminary basic research and clinical findings have demonstrated that electroacupuncture therapy exhibits positive effects in ameliorating depression. However, most studies of the underlying mechanism are at the single gene level; there are few reports regarding the mechanism at the whole-genome level. Using a rat genomic gene-chip, Dr. Dongmei Duan and co-workers from General PLA Hospital in China profiled hippocampal gene expression changes in rats after electroacupuncture therapy. Electroacupuncture therapy alleviated depression-related manifestations in the model rats.

(Boston) Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that the diabetic drug, pramlintide, reduces amyloid-beta peptides, a major component of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the brain and improves learning and memory in two experimental AD models. These findings, which appear online in Molecular Psychiatry, also found AD patients have a lower level of amylin in blood compared to those without this disease. These results may provide a new avenue for both treatment and diagnosis of AD.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Bosses who are fair make their workers happier and their companies more productive, but in the end may be burning themselves out.

A new study led by Michigan State University's Russell E. Johnson found the act of carefully monitoring the fairness of workplace decisions wears down supervisors mentally and emotionally.

(Toronto) March 24, 2014 – A nasal spray that delivers a peptide to treat depression holds promise as a potential alternative therapeutic approach, research from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) shows.

The study, led by CAMH's Dr. Fang Liu, is published online in Neuropsychopharmacology.

The Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden (cfaed) presents its new microchip 'Tomahawk 2' at the DATE'14 Conference in the International Congress Center Dresden from March 24 to 28, 2014. The new Tomahawk is extremely fast, energy-efficient and resilient. It is a heterogeneous multi-processor which can easily integrate very different kinds of devices. The researchers of the Cluster of Excellence for microelectronics of Technische Universität Dresden use the new prototype to prepare the so-called 'tactile internet'.

TORONTO, ON — A joint study by researchers at the University of California San Diego and the University of Toronto has found that a computer system spots real or faked expressions of pain more accurately than people can. The work, titled "Automatic Decoding of Deceptive Pain Expressions," is published in the latest issue of Current Biology.

Misplaced your keys? Can't remember someone's name? Didn't notice the stop sign? Those who frequently experience such cognitive lapses now have an explanation. Psychologists from the University of Bonn have found a connection between such everyday lapses and the DRD2 gene. Those who have a certain variant of this gene are more easily distracted and experience a significantly higher incidence of lapses due to a lack of attention. The scientific team will probably report their results in the May issue of "Neuroscience Letters," which is already available online in advance.

Alexandria, Va., USA – Today during the 43rd Annual Meeting & Exhibition of the American Association for Dental Research, held in conjunction with the 38th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research, a symposium titled "Water Fluoridation: Safety Efficacy and Value in Oral Health Care" will take place. This symposium will be chaired by Stephen H. Abrams, Cliffcrest Dental Office, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Philadelphia, Pa. (March 21, 2014) – A standard experimental model of concussion in rats causes substantial brain damage—but no behavioral changes comparable to those seen in patients with concussion, reports a study in the April issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.