Posts Tagged ‘Genetics’
Researchers Induce Alzheimer’s Neurons from Pluripotent Stem Cells
First-ever feat provides new method to understand cause of disease, develop drugs Led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, scientists have, for the first time, created stem cell-derived, in vitro models of sporadic and hereditary [Read More]
Genetic Study Offers Clues to How Intelligence Changes Through Life
Scientists have estimated for the first time the extent to which genes determine changes in intelligence across the human life course. The study found that genetic factors may account for about 24 per cent of changes in intelligence between childhood and old age. The [Read More]
A First: Brain Support Cells from Umbilical Cord Stem Cells
For the first time ever, stem cells from umbilical cords have been converted into other types of cells, which may eventually lead to new treatment options for spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis, among other nervous system diseases. “This is the first time [Read More]
Brain Glia Cells Increase Their DNA Content to Preserve Vital Blood Brain Barrier
The blood-brain barrier is essential for maintaining the brain’s stable environment — preventing entry of harmful viruses and bacteria and isolating the brain’s specific hormonal and neurotransmitter activity from that in the rest of the body. In addition to nerve [Read More]
Receptor for Tasting Fat Identified in Humans
Why do we like fatty foods so much? We can blame our taste buds. Our tongues apparently recognize and have an affinity for fat, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. They have found that variations in a gene can make people more [Read More]
Disruption of Biological Clocks Causes Neurodegeneration, Early Death
New research at Oregon State University provides evidence for the first time that disruption of circadian rhythms – the biological “clocks” found in many animals – can clearly cause accelerated neurodegeneration, loss of motor function and premature death. The study [Read More]
A Gene for Depression Localized
Psychiatric disorders can be described on many levels, the most traditional of which are subjective descriptions of the experience of being depressed and the use of rating scales that quantify depressive symptoms. Over the past two decades, research has developed other [Read More]
Human Skull Study Causes Evolutionary Headache
Scientists studying a unique collection of human skulls have shown that changes to the skull shape thought to have occurred independently through separate evolutionary events may have actually precipitated each other. Researchers at the Universities of Manchester and [Read More]
UCSF-Led Team Discovers Cause of Rare Disease – PKD/IC
Childhood Disorder Called PKD that Causes Epileptic Seizures Linked to Genetic Mutations A large, international team of researchers led by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has identified the gene that causes a rare childhood neurological [Read More]
Towards a Therapy to Healing Stroke
KIT Biologists Supply Major Results for Understanding the Thalamus, the “Relay Center” of the Brain The thalamus is the central translator in the brain: Specialized nerve cells (neurons) receive information from the sensory organs, process it, and transmit it deep into [Read More]
