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UCSD

·October 5, 2023·6 min read

Mapping the Amygdala Leads to New Hope For Cocaine Addiction

Researchers crafted a detailed atlas of the amygdala, revealing new insights into emotional responses and potential treatments for cocaine addiction. A cell-by-cell study of the amygdala, a brain structure vital in controlling emotional reactions, has exposed previously unobserved links between addiction behaviors and genes related to energy metabolism, suggesting energy management in neurons could influence addiction-like actions.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 29, 2023·5 min read

Weight Stability in 60s Tied to Women’s Longevity

Maintaining stable weight after age 60 significantly boosts women's odds of living past 90. Researchers found women who kept a steady weight were 1.2 to 2 times more likely to reach exceptional longevity compared to those who lost 5% or more of their weight.

This shows a dinner plate and a man's hands.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·August 21, 2023·5 min read

Intermittent Fasting Strategy Offers Alzheimer’s Hope

Alzheimer's patients often suffer disruptions to their circadian rhythms. A new study reveals a potential remedy: time-restricted feeding.

Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience

·July 26, 2023·5 min read

Pioneering Stem Cell Therapy Offers New Hope for Epilepsy Treatment

Researchers embarked on a groundbreaking clinical trial involving the injection of regenerative cells into the brain to treat epileptic seizures. This experimental therapy, called NRTX-1001, has the potential to offer drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy patients a non-destructive cure for their seizures.

Featured Neuroscience

·June 8, 2023·5 min read

Can AI Assistants Like ChatGPT Help Address Public Health Questions?

A new study explores the potential of AI assistants, such as ChatGPT, in providing accurate and actionable responses to public health questions. The study evaluated ChatGPT's ability to address a range of common health queries and found that it provided evidence-based responses to 91% of the questions.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 20, 2023·5 min read

Non-Invasive Brain Imaging Deciphers Hand Gestures

Researchers have developed a non-invasive method to identify hand gestures through brain imaging. The technique utilizes magnetoencephalography (MEG) and could contribute to the evolution of brain-computer interfaces.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·May 19, 2023·5 min read

AI Unlocks Custom-Tailored DNA Sequences

Researchers are using artificial intelligence (AI) to dig deep into the mechanisms of gene activation, a crucial process in growth, development, and disease. Utilizing machine learning, the team identified “synthetic extreme” DNA sequences that play specific roles in gene activation. These sequences were discovered by testing millions of DNA sequences and comparing gene activation elements in humans and fruit flies.

This shows a chat screen with a doctor and patient on a chatbot page

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 28, 2023·8 min read

ChatGPT Beats Doctors in Compassion and Quality of Advice to Patients

Researchers compared written responses from physicians and ChatGPT to real-world health questions and found that a panel of licensed healthcare professionals preferred ChatGPT's responses 79% of the time, rating ChatGPT's responses as higher quality and more empathetic. While AI assistants like ChatGPT won't replace doctors, the study suggests that physicians working together with such technologies may revolutionize medicine.

This shows the outline of a child's head

Autism Featured Neuroscience

·March 23, 2023·11 min read

Autism Rates Continue to Rise in California

1 in 22 children in California is diagnosed with autism, a new study reports. The number is higher than previous estimates in December which stated 1 in 44 children were on the autism spectrum. Earlier diagnosis and extensive early services may account for the higher number of children diagnosed with ASD in California.

This is a drawing of a cell taking out trash

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·March 21, 2023·5 min read

To Ward off Aging, Stem Cells Must Take Out the Trash

Blood stem cells use an unexpected method to remove misfolded proteins, and the pathway's activity declines with age. However, boosting the aggrephagy pathway could help prevent age-related diseases.

Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience

·March 16, 2023·5 min read

DNA Treatment Could Delay Paralysis That Strikes Nearly All Patients With ALS

DNA designer therapeutics restored levels of a protein critical to motor neuron function, restoring the activity that is impaired as a result of ALS.

Featured Neuroscience

·March 9, 2023·4 min read

Complex Learned Social Behavior Discovered in Bee’s Waggle Dance

A bee's "waggle dance", an intricate series of motions that signals the location of critical resources to other bees, is improved by social learning and can be culturally transmitted.