News tagged with brain tissue
A new shortcut for stem cell programming
Scientists at the Life and Brain Research Center at the University of Bonn, Germany, have succeeded in directly generating brain stem cells from the connective tissue cells of mice.
Mar 22, 2012 |
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New type of extra-chromosomal DNA discovered
(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of scientists from the University of Virginia and University of North Carolina in the US have discovered a previously unidentified type of small circular DNA molecule occurring outside ...
Mar 09, 2012 |
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Immortal worms defy aging
Researchers from The University of Nottingham have demonstrated how a species of flatworm overcomes the ageing process to be potentially immortal.
Feb 27, 2012 |
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In lab, Pannexin1 restores tight binding of cells that is lost in cancer
First there is the tumor and then there's the horrible question of whether the cancerous cells will spread. Scientists increasingly believe that the structural properties of the tumor itself, such as how tightly ...
Jan 30, 2012 |
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Scientists uncover new role for gene in maintaining steady weight
Against the backdrop of the growing epidemic of obesity in the United States, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have made an important new discovery regarding a specific gene that plays ...
Nov 23, 2011 |
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How cells know when to tighten the belt
The epithelial cells that line the surface of tissues form a tightly sealed barrier, with individual cells joined together by structures called apical junctional complexes (AJCs). However, embryonic epithelium ...
Oct 21, 2011 |
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New tool to help surgeons remove more cancer tissue during brain surgery
Scientists are reporting development and successful initial testing of a new tool that tells whether brain tissue is normal or cancerous while an operation is underway, so that surgeons can remove more of ...
Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry
Oct 19, 2011 |
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Water channels in the body help cells remain in balance
microscopical water channels are also present in the cells of the body, where they ensure that water can be transported through the protective surface of the cell. Scientists at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have ...
Oct 11, 2011 |
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Scientists combine tumor-targeting peptides and nanoparticles to destroy glioblastoma
Glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer. Rather than presenting as a well-defined tumor, glioblastoma will often infiltrate the surrounding brain tissue, making it extremely difficult to treat surgically ...
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Oct 03, 2011 |
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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 ...
Jun 09, 2011 |
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Tinnitus caused by too little inhibition of brain auditory circuits, study says
Tinnitus, a relentless and often life-changing ringing in the ears known to disable soldiers exposed to blasts, unwary listeners of too-loud music and millions of others, is the result of under-inhibition of key neural pathways ...
Medicine & Health / Medical research
Apr 18, 2011 |
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Brain bypass surgery sparks restoration of lost brain tissue
Neurosurgeons at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre, Toronto Western Hospital, have for the first time, initiated the restoration of lost brain tissue through brain bypass surgery in patients where blood flow to the brain is ...
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Apr 18, 2011 |
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Social wasps show how bigger brains provide complex cognition
Across many groups of animals, species with bigger brains often have better cognitive abilities. But it's been unclear whether overall brain size or the size of specific brain areas is the key.
Apr 11, 2011 |
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Multiple sclerosis blocked in mouse model
Scientists have blocked harmful immune cells from entering the brain in mice with a condition similar to multiple sclerosis (MS).
Medicine & Health / Medical research
Mar 07, 2011 |
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Researchers explore PARIS; finds a key to Parkinson's
Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered that PARIS -- the protein -- facilitates the most common form of Parkinson's disease (PD), which affects about 1 million older Americans. The findings of their study, published March ...
Medicine & Health / Medical research
Mar 03, 2011 |
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Human brain
The human brain is the center of the human nervous system and is a highly complex organ. Enclosed in the cranium, it has the same general structure as the brains of other mammals, but is over three times as large as the brain of a mammal with an equivalent body size. Most of the expansion comes from the cerebral cortex, a convoluted layer of neural tissue that covers the surface of the forebrain. Especially expanded are the frontal lobes, which are involved in executive functions such as self-control, planning, reasoning, and abstract thought. The portion of the brain devoted to vision is also greatly enlarged in humans.
Brain evolution, from the earliest shrewlike mammals through primates to hominids, is marked by a steady increase in encephalization, or the ratio of brain to body size. The human brain has been estimated to contain 50–100 billion (1011) neurons[citation needed], of which about 10 billion (1010) are cortical pyramidal cells.[citation needed] These cells pass signals to each other via approximately 100 trillion (1014)[citation needed] synaptic connections.
In spite of the fact that it is protected by the thick bones of the skull, suspended in cerebrospinal fluid, and isolated from the bloodstream by the blood-brain barrier, the delicate nature of the human brain makes it susceptible to many types of damage and disease. The most common forms of physical damage are closed head injuries such as a blow to the head, a stroke, or poisoning by a wide variety of chemicals that can act as neurotoxins. Infection of the brain is rare because of the barriers that protect it, but is very serious when it occurs. More common are genetically based diseases[citation needed], such as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and many others. A number of psychiatric conditions, such as schizophrenia and depression, are widely thought to be caused at least partially by brain dysfunctions, although the nature of such brain anomalies is not well understood.
For more information about Human brain, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
