Researchers Seek Better Neural Control of Prosthetics for Amputees
Sandia National Laboratories researchers, using off-the-shelf equipment in a chemistry lab, have been working on ways to improve amputees’ control over prosthetics with direct help from their own nervous systems. Organic materials chemist Shawn Dirk,…
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…
Walk This Way: Scientists and MBL Physiology Course Students Describe How a Motor Protein “Steps Out”
Just like people, some proteins have characteristic ways of “walking,” which (also like human gaits) are not so easy to describe. But now scientists have discovered the unique “drunken sailor” gait of dynein, a protein…
Study Offers Clue As to Why Alcohol is Addicting
UCSF Gallo scientists show that drinking releases brain endorphins Drinking alcohol leads to the release of endorphins in areas of the brain that produce feelings of pleasure and reward, according to a study led by…
New Research Identifies Changes in Spinal Cord Compression
Research from The University of Western Ontario is now looking beyond spinal cord injuries in patients to better understand what is happening in the brain. While spinal degeneration is an unavoidable part of aging, for…
Novel Drug Makes Brain Tumors Glow Hot Pink
Bright color distinguishes tumor from healthy tissue to improve tumor resection Just 24 hours after Lisa Rek sang at her niece’s wedding, her husband Brad was driving her to a local hospital. “The pain got…
Parkinsonian Worms May Hold the Key to Identifying Drugs for Parkinson’s Disease
Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have devised a simple test, using dopamine-deficient worms, for identifying drugs that may help people with Parkinson’s disease. The worms are able to evaluate as many as…
Researchers Aim for Direct Brain Control of Prosthetic Arms
Engineers work to design prosthetic arm that allows amputees to feel what they touch. Engineering researchers at four U.S. universities are embarking on a four-year project to design a prosthetic arm that amputees can control…
Researchers Create First Artificial Neural Network Out of DNA
Molecular soup exhibits brainlike behavior Artificial intelligence has been the inspiration for countless books and movies, as well as the aspiration of countless scientists and engineers. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have…
Breathing Restored after Spinal Cord Injury in Rodent Model
Study published in the online issue of Nature on July 14 Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine bridged a spinal cord injury and biologically regenerated lost nerve connections to the diaphragm, restoring…
