brain

Fifty years on from American chemist Pal Laterbur detailing the first magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), scientists have marked this historic medical anniversary with the sharpest-ever scans of a mouse brain.Nearly 40 decades in the making, researchers from Duke University’s Center for In Vivo Microscopy, along with scientists from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh and Indiana University, have produced MRI visuals 64 million times sharper than current…

A recent study led by UCL researchers has found that people living with long COVID and experiencing anosmia (loss of smell) show different brain activity patterns compared to those who have recovered their sense of smell or never had COVID-19. The observational study used MRI scans and discovered reduced brain activity and impaired communication between the orbitofrontal cortex and the pre-frontal cortex in people with long COVID anosmia. This connection was not impaired in those who had regained their sense of smell…

The complete set of neurons in an insect brain. Researchers have mapped the connectome of an entire Drosophila larva brain. This valuable resource reveals diverse neuron and connection types, extensive multisensory integration, and cross-hemisphere interaction, with structural features resembling prominent characteristics of machine learning networks. Credit: Johns Hopkins University/University of CambridgeResearchers have created the first-ever connectome, or synaptic wiring diagram, of an entire Drosophila larva brain.…

Researchers are conducting a large study to determine the impact of fermented foods on brain health. Preliminary results have shown that almost all of the 200 fermented foods studied exhibited potential to improve gut and brain health, with fermented sugar-based and vegetable-based products showing the most promise. Fermented sugar products, despite their name, convert raw sugar into beneficial metabolites that can positively affect the brain. Further studies will use an artificial colon and animal models to investigate…

I was 35 when I took the test. And my results suggested that my biological age was 35 too. That indicates I’m aging at a normal rate compared with other people we have data for. But the company that ran the test has updated its offering since then. A couple of months ago, it reanalyzed my results to give me an individual biological age for each of nine systems, including my brain, liver, heart, and blood. I was disappointed when I learned last year that despite a plant-based diet and regular yoga, I am no more…

A full autopsy and detailed examination of the brain of a 79-year-old Florida woman who died after receiving lecanemab, an experimental Alzheimer’s therapy, in a pivotal clinical trial has deepened some researchers’ concerns that it poses serious risks for patients who share the woman’s hard-to-diagnose, preexisting condition. The patient’s history and autopsy “strongly suggests that lecanemab infusions were a catalyst leading to the events resulting in her…

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professor Adrian Krainer developed several antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) molecules for a new potential cancer treatment, but the most potent was ASO5. When mice were treated with ASO5, their tumor cells (stained red) grew slower and began differentiating into healthy cells (stained green). Credit: Krainer lab/Cold Spring Harbor LaboratoryResearchers develop a potential therapeutic for lethal pediatric brain cancer, DIPG, using ASO technology. The treatment slows tumor growth and increases…

A Rutgers study found that individuals born to overweight mothers during pregnancy and nursing may be more prone to obesity due to early overnutrition rewiring their brains to crave unhealthy food. The study offers insights for potential brain-altering drugs to reduce cravings for unhealthy food and suggests that such individuals can maintain healthy weights by eating healthy foods and avoiding junk food.Individuals with mothers who were overweight during pregnancy and nursing may face a higher risk of adult obesity, as…

Artistic rendering illustrating how the mechanical nanosurgery, a new approach developed by SickKids and University of Toronto researchers, targets cancer cells from inside the tumor, sparing healthy tissue in the process. Credit: Created by The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) research team using MidjourneyMechanical nanosurgery, a new approach developed by scientists at The Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto, uses magnetic carbon nanotubes to target and destroy chemoresistant glioblastoma…

In vitro tests have shown that two substances, A5 and C1, derived from the total synthesis of apomorphine hydrochloride, inhibit glioblastoma cell proliferation, suppress tumor stem cell formation, and boost temozolomide’s effectiveness. Further research and in vivo studies are needed to confirm their potential as novel glioblastoma treatments.In vitro tests were performed with cultured cells of glioblastoma, an aggressive type of cancer with few treatment options. The next step is to test the effects of the substances in…