Brain

Putnam Valley, NY. (Dec. 18, 2013) – Hepatocyte (liver cell) transplantation is becoming an accepted therapy for acute liver failure, either for liver regeneration or as a bridge to liver transplantation. However, maintaining the viability and functional aspects of hepatocytes has been a concern even with successful freezing (cryopreservation).

New research from the University of Adelaide has added to the debate about how our bodies respond to artificial sweeteners and whether they are good, bad or have no effect on us.

A paper published in the Christmas edition of The BMJ asks why so many people follow medical advice from celebrities when so much of it is ill-informed and some of it is potentially harmful.

Celebrities can generate a large amount of publicity for health campaigns. For example, Michael J Fox's foundation has raised over $350 million for Parkinson's research and singer Sir Elton John's charity has raised more than $300 million to fight HIV/AIDs.

A group of researchers from the UK have used inkjet printing technology to successfully print cells taken from the eye for the very first time.

The breakthrough, which has been detailed in a paper published today, 18 December, in IOP Publishing's journal Biofabrication, could lead to the production of artificial tissue grafts made from the variety of cells found in the human retina and may aid in the search to cure blindness.

PITTSBURGH—Imagine kicking a cocaine addiction by simply popping a pill that alters the way your brain processes chemical addiction. New research from the University of Pittsburgh suggests that a method of biologically manipulating certain neurocircuits could lead to a pharmacological approach that would weaken post-withdrawal cocaine cravings. The findings have been published in Nature Neuroscience.

The social benefits of regret

A new gene mutation which will help doctors give a more accurate diagnosis of a particular type of brain and muscle disease in children has been discovered for the first time by University of Leeds experts.

Mitochondrial myopathy, as it is known, causes muscle weakness, movement problems and learning difficulties and affects more than 70,000 people in the UK.

For the first time, mutations in a particular gene, MICU1, have been linked to myopathy. The discovery gives a better understanding of the genetic causes of the condition.

WASHINGTON – New types of assessments will be needed to measure student learning once the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are implemented, says a new report from the National Research Council. The tests that states currently use emphasize factual knowledge and were not designed to assess the type of understanding envisioned by the standards, which emphasize depth of knowledge based on the ability to integrate core content with science and engineering practices.

Measuring changes in certain proteins -- called biomarkers -- in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis may better predict the progression of the disease, according to scientists at Penn State College of Medicine.

ALS is often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurological disease in which the brain loses its ability to control movement as motor neurons degenerate. The course of the disease varies, with survival ranging from months to decades.

Scientists have identified the biological pathway that explains Gaucher disease (GD) patients' higher risk for developing Parkinson's disease (PD), according to research to be presented Tuesday, Dec. 17, at the American Society for Cell Biology annual meeting in New Orleans.

Philadelphia, PA, December 17, 2013 – Depression has been associated with reduced volume of the hippocampus in magnetic resonance imaging studies in humans. A new study just published in Biological Psychiatry now clarifies the cellular basis of these volumetric changes, which have been unclear until now.

As many parents of mentally ill adults will confirm anecdotally, the first symptoms of "something not quite right" with their children begin to appear during the teen years. It is known that during this teenaged phase of brain development, adolescents are particularly vulnerable to psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, depression and drug addiction.

Ten million bits – that's the information volume transmitted every second with every quick eye movement from the eye to the cerebrum. Researchers from the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) and the University of Osnabrück describe the way those data are processed by the primary visual cortex, the entry point for the visual information into the brain, in the journal "Cerebral Cortex". Deploying novel optical imaging methods, they demonstrated that the brain does not always transmit the entire image information.

MANHASSET, NY – Investigators at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have discovered for the first time, direct evidence of a genetic overlap between schizophrenia and general cognitive ability. The findings are published online in Molecular Psychiatry.

OAK BROOK, Ill. – Researchers have identified a potential biomarker for predicting whether a premature infant is at high risk for motor development problems, according to a study published online in the journal Radiology.