Human Thought Can Voluntarily Control Neurons in Brain
Neuroscience research involving epileptic patients with brain electrodes surgically implanted in their medial temporal lobes shows that patients learned to consciously control individual neurons deep in the brain with thoughts.
Blind People Process Touch Faster
Recent visual neuroscience research provides evidence that blind people process the sense of touch faster than people with normal vision. The research also found that each blind person’s tactile perception time was nearly equal to their average speed of their finger moving from one Braille character to the next.
Computational Neuroscience Suggests Potassium Channels More Involved in MS Than Thought
Computational models of axonal properties suggest that problems associated with MS, and other demyelinating diseases, may be due more to an imbalance between sodium channels and potassium channels that play a role in the leak current in neuronal membranes, than to the currently targeted sodium channels of most MS drugs.
70 Years Old and Smarter Than Ever
A large study of 70-year-olds born in either 1901-1902, or 1930, provides evidence that the population of 70-year-olds in 2000 did much better on intelligence tests than the 70-year-olds of 1971-72.
Bioengineering First: Implant to Treat Vertigo from Meniere’s Disease, Balance Disorders
The first implant to treat vertigo experienced during attacks related to Meniere’s Disease and similar balance disorders will be implanted into a patient today. The bioengineered implanted device will be used during the attacks, which can cause hearing loss, balance problems and nausea. The implanting procedure and treatment are predicted to be safer and more [...]
Neurobiologists Genetically Engineer Mice to Smell Light
Neurobiologists have genetically engineered mice to smell light. This optogenetics research provides a better understanding of the neural basis of olfaction. By integrating light sensitive proteins, channelrhodopsins, into the olfactory system of mice, the neurobiologists were better able to control tests involving the olfactory bulb. Those interested in optogenetics, genetics, neuroscience, olfactory systems and neural [...]
Healthy Babies Born in Genetic Screening Study
Two healthy baby girls and a healthy baby boy were born recently after genetic screening study. These babies were the first human babies born that relied on IVF and had each chromosome assessed in each oocyte before IVF. The genetic screening technique used improves on many other methods.
Peer Into Living Cells Without Damaging Them – B-CARS
Biologists may be able to better peer into living cells according to new research. Using a new variation on Raman spectroscopy, detailed molecular maps of cellular content can be made without damaging the examined cells.
Close Friends Light Up Your Medial Prefrontal Cortex Brain Region
The title of this article may not catch on as a song lyric, but new neurobiology research shows close friends can cause more of a response in brain regions such as the medial prefrontal cortex than strangers can.
First Clinical Trial of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Therapy in the World Begins
Human embryonic stem cell therapy is being tried on a human for the first time in a new clinical trial. This is the first clinical trial of its kind in the world. The first patient is reported as a patient in an Atlanta spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation hospital. The patient’s injuries were between [...]
