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Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have unraveled the processes that give astrocytes, the most abundant glial cell in the brain, their special bushy shape, which is fundamental for brain function. They report in the journal Nature that neuronal activity is necessary and sufficient for astrocytes to develop their complex shape, and interrupting this developmental process results in disrupted brain function.

“Astrocytes play diverse roles that are vital for proper brain function,” said first author Yi-Ting Cheng, a graduate student in Dr. Benjamin Deneen’s lab at Baylor. “For instance, they support the activity of other essential brain cells, neurons; participate in the formation and function of synapses, or neuron-to-neuron connections; release neurotransmitters, chemicals that mediate neuronal communication; and make the blood-brain barrier.”

In the adult brain, the bushy shape of astrocytes is fundamentally linked to effective brain function. The ends of the branched-out astrocyte structure interact with neurons and regulate synaptic activity.

Summary: Researchers shed new light on the molecular and genetic basis of long-term memory formation in the brain. A new study reveals a single stimulation to the synapses of hippocampal neurons triggered numerous cycles where the memory-coding Arc gene produced mRNA molecules that were then translated into synapse-strengthening Arc proteins. From the findings, researchers determined a novel feedback loop that helps explain how short-lived mRNA and proteins create long-term memories in the brain.

Source: albert einstein college of medicine.

Helping your mother make pancakes when you were three…riding your bike without training wheels…your first romantic kiss: How do we retain vivid memories of long-ago events?

Summary: An international team of scientists has identified a gene in the brain responsible for anxiety symptoms and found that modifying the gene can reduce anxiety levels, offering a novel drug target for anxiety disorders. The discovery highlights a new amygdala miR483-5p/Pgap2 pathway that regulates the brain’s response to stress and provides a potential therapeutic approach for anxiety disorders.

Source: University of Bristol.

A gene in the brain driving anxiety symptoms has been identified by an international team of scientists. Critically, modification of the gene is shown to reduce anxiety levels, offering an exciting novel drug target for anxiety disorders.

Scientists have developed a specially engineered biochip that uses electricity to heal wounds up to three times faster than normal.

It’s well known that electric fields can guide the movements of skin cells, nudging them towards the site of an injury for instance. In fact, the human body generates an electric field that does this naturally. So researchers from the University of Freiburg in Germany set out to amplify the effect.

While it might not heal severe injuries with the speed of a Marvel superhero, it could radically reduce the time it takes for small tears and lacerations to recover.

Learn How to Prevent and Heal Cancer Using Natural, Holistic and Integrative Methods from World Leading Doctors and Cancer-Conquerors.

Kurzweil says NO, on AI pause non sense.

By Ray Kurzweil April 2023

Continue reading “Opinion letter from Ray Kurzweil on request for 6 month delay on large language models that go beyond GPT-4 « Kurzweil” »

An anti-cancer gel promises to wipe out glioblastoma permanently, a feat that’s never been accomplished by any drug or surgery. So what makes this gel so special?

Scientists at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) have developed a novel gel that both eliminates brain cancer (glioblastoma) and keeps it from recurring. When they tested this anti-cancer gel on mice with glioblastoma, surprisingly, all the mouse models were cured of the illness.

Continue reading “New study reveals a gel that promises to wipe out brain cancer for good” »

A new project called Progression Assessment in Neurodegenerative Disorders of Aging or PANDA aims to detect subtle changes in a person’s sleep patterns that may indicate the onset of Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. The collaboration of this four-year project involves Rigshospitalet University, Denmark’s Aarhus University, and MedTech company T&W Engineering. The project has received funding of DKK 15 million to develop and test a small earbud-like experimental device that can detect the early signs of these diseases.

The Ear-EEG Technology

Unlike the traditional sleep-monitoring systems that require a person to stay in a clinic with multiple electrodes attached to their body, the ear-EEG allows for comfortable, long-term use at home. The device monitors electrical activity in the brain by measuring tiny voltage changes on the skin surface within the ear canal. It is also equipped with an oximeter for measuring blood oxygen levels, a microphone for monitoring respiration and heart rate, and a thermometer for measuring body temperature.

MIT

“Delivering drugs this way could offer less systemic toxicity and is more local, comfortable, and controllable,” said Canan Dagdeviren, an associate professor in MIT’s Media Lab and the senior author of the study, in a statement.