Neuronal recycling: This is how our brain allows us to read
Letters, syllables, words and sentences–spatially arranged sets of symbols that acquire meaning when we read them. But is there an area and cognitive mechanism in our brain that is specifically devoted to reading? Probably not; written language is too much of a recent invention for the brain to have developed structures specifically dedicated to it. […]
Six-fold rise in brain pressure disorder that affects mostly women
A brain pressure disorder that especially affects women, causing severe headaches and sometimes permanent sight loss, has risen six-fold in 15 years, and is linked to obesity and deprivation, a new study by Swansea University researchers has shown. Rates of emergency hospital admissions in Wales for people with the disorder were also five times higher […]
Scientists study use of abundant enzyme in tumor cells to monitor cancer treatment
IMAGE: The team led by Carmen Ferreira-Halder at Unicamps Bioassay and Signal Tranduction Laboratory conclude that the molecule is associated with chemotherapy resistance and metastasis. view more Credit: Roberta Ruela de Souza The abundant presence of an enzyme known as low molecular weight protein tyrosine phosphatase (LMWPTP) in tumor cells has long been considered an indicator […]
Quick look under the skin
IMAGE: First author Oliver Schoppe in the Center for Translational Cancer Research at the Technical University of Munich. view more Credit: Astrid Eckert / TUM Imaging techniques enable a detailed look inside an organism. But interpreting the data is time-consuming and requires a great deal of experience. Artificial neural networks open up new possibilities: They require […]
Maternal Immune Activation Induces Sustained Changes in Fetal Microglia Motility
IMAGE: Illustration of microglial process motility changes in fetuses affected by maternal immune activation. view more Credit: Department of Anatomy and Molecular Cell Biology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine Researchers at the Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine have revealed that alterations in fetal microglia (*1) resulting from maternal inflammation could contribute towards the onset […]
Christmas trees can be green because of a photosynthetic short-cut
How can conifers that are used for example as Christmas trees keep their green needles over the boreal winter when most trees shed their leaves? Science has not provided a good answer to this question but now an international team of scientists, including researchers from Umeå University, has deciphered that a short-cut in the photosynthetic […]
Difference in blood pressure between arms linked to greater death risk
Robust evidence from a large international study confirms that a difference in blood pressure readings between arms is linked to greater risk of heart attack, stroke and death. Led by the University of Exeter, the global INTERPRESS-IPD Collaboration conducted a meta-analysis of all the available research, then merged data from 24 global studies to create […]
Blood pressure drug may be key to increasing lifespan, new study shows
IMAGE: Scientists found that C. elegans administered metolazone lived longer than those that were not given the drug. This suggests that metolazone, despite being an anti-hypertension drug, can be used in… view more Credit: Eriko Kage-Nakadai, Osaka City University Since time immemorial, people have been fascinated by ways to stop aging. Nearly every culture has stories […]
Flavors added to vaping devices can damage the heart
IMAGE: Sami Noujaim, PhD, associate professor of molecular pharmacology and physiology at the University of South Florida Health (USF Health) Morsani College of Medicine, has begun investigating preclinically the potential cardiotoxic… view more Credit: Photo courtesy of USF Health TAMPA, Fla (Dec. 11, 2020) — The appealing array of fruit and candy flavors that entice millions […]
DeepLabCut-Live! real-time marker-less motion capture for animals
Gollum in “The Lord of the Rings”, Thanos in the “Avengers”, Snoke in “Star Wars”, the Na’vi in “Avatar”: we have all experienced the wonders of motion-capture, a cinema technique that tracks an actor’s movements and “translates” them into computer animation to create a moving, emoting – and maybe one day Oscar-winning – digital character. […]
