News tagged with brain nerves

The living fossils of brain evolution

(Phys.org) -- In the course of its evolution, the architecture of the mouse brain may have barely changed. Similar to the tiny ancestors of modern mammals that lived about 80 million years ago, nerve cells ...

Biology / Evolution

created May 23, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Navigating the neurochemical space by computer-aided molecular design

Pharmaceutical scientists from VU University Amsterdam and colleagues from the University of Vienna and Medical University of Vienna have gained new insights into the molecular basis of the GABAA receptors, ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Apr 06, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Nerve cells grow on nanocellulose

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from Chalmers and the University of Gothenburg have shown that nanocellulose stimulates the formation of neural networks. This is the first step toward creating a three-dimensional ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Mar 19, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Toxins from diseased brain cells make diseases of the brain even worse

Sometimes our immune defence attacks our own cells. When this happens in the brain we see neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. But if the the immune defence is inhibited, the results ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Feb 22, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Making the worms turn

To biophysicist Aravinthan Samuel, the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans provides a pathway to understanding the brain and nervous system, first of the worm, then of higher animals, and even, perhaps, of humans.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Feb 03, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Researchers find gene critical to sense of smell in fruit fly

(Medical Xpress) -- Fruit flies don't have noses, but a huge part of their brains is dedicated to processing smells. Flies probably rely on the sense of smell more than any other sense for essential activities ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jan 19, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

A whole new meaning for thinking on your feet

Smithsonian researchers report that the brains of tiny spiders are so large that they fill their body cavities and overflow into their legs. As part of ongoing research to understand how miniaturization affects ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Dec 12, 2011 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (9) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Scientists solve mystery of the eye

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have a good overall understanding of human vision: when light enters our eyes, it is focused by the lens and strikes the retina in the back of the eye. The light causes some of ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Nov 17, 2011 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (64) | comments 14 | with audio podcast feature

How does DEET work? Study says it confuses insects (Update)

For almost 50 years, people have used insect repellents containing DEET. But scientists still argue about how the stuff works.

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Sep 21, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Nanoparticles cause brain injury in fish

Scientists at the University of Plymouth have shown, for the first time in an animal, that nanoparticles have a detrimental effect on the brain and other parts of the central nervous system.

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Sep 19, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1

MS research: Myelin influences how brain cells send signals

The development of a new cell-culture system that mimics how specific nerve cell fibers in the brain become coated with protective myelin opens up new avenues of research about multiple sclerosis. Initial findings suggest ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Jul 21, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Scientists develop sensitive skin for robots

Robots will soon be able to feel heat or gentle touching on their surfaces. Researchers at Technische Universitaet Muenchen are now producing small hexagonal plates which when joined together form a sensitive skin for "machines ...

Electronics / Robotics

created Jun 29, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 3

Compound may provide drug therapy approach for Huntington's disease

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have identified compounds that appear to inhibit a signaling pathway in Huntington's disease, a finding that may eventually lead to a potential drug therapy to help slow the progression ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Jun 23, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Clinic tries to wean addicts off Internet fix

Choi Hyun-Min loses all track of time when he sits down to play computer games, but the sessions usually last at least 10 hours.

Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry

created Jun 19, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

New genetic technique converts skin cells into brain cells

A research breakthrough has proven that it is possible to reprogram mature cells from human skin directly into brain cells, without passing through the stem cell stage. The unexpectedly simple technique involves activating ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jun 09, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast