brain

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Earlier this year, astronomers found an absolute monster of a galaxy.Lurking some 3 billion light-years away, Alcyoneus is a giant radio galaxy reaching 5 megaparsecs into space. That's 16.3 million light-years long, and it constitutes the largest known structure of galactic origin.The discovery highlights our poor understanding of these colossi, and what drives their incredible growth.But it could provide a pathway to better understanding, not just of giant radio galaxies, but the intergalactic medium that drifts in the…

OCD is characterized by a pattern of unwanted thoughts and fears (obsessions) that cause you to engage in repetitive behaviors (compulsions).Two-thirds of individuals treated have shown significant improvement, with a nearly 50% reduction in symptoms.The symptoms of severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD as it is more popularly known, may be reduced by half with deep brain stimulation, according to a pooled data analysis of the available data, which was recently published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery,…

The researchers anticipate that the study’s success will have positive implications for clinical treatment.The treatment caused neurological changes, including a decrease in inflammation and an increase in functionality, according to the researchers.A recent Tel Aviv University study found that pressure chamber therapy greatly improved social skills and the condition of the autistic brain. The research was carried out on autism animal models. The researchers discovered changes in the brain, including a decrease in…

Red and orange areas on these heat maps of human brains show where the gene APOE is most active (top two brain images) and where tangles of the protein tau are most concentrated (bottom two brain images). APOE is the biggest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s, and tau tangles drive brain damage in the disease. The similarities in the two sets of maps suggested to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis that APOE plays a role in making certain brain areas particularly vulnerable to Alzheimer’s…

The brain’s natural defenses can make tumors in this part of the body difficult to treat, but scientists have found some early success using electrical fields in laboratory models. The technique involves using electrical energy to selectively target cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed, with the scientists also demonstrating how it could be used to open up the blood-brain barrier for more effective chemotherapy.The work was carried out by researchers at the University of Saskatchewan and looks to leverage…

A newly discovered brain in a 525-million-year-old arthropod fossil looks to be the oldest found so far – and it may have settled an ongoing debate about how brains first evolved in these invertebrate animals.Spotted in a tiny, armored lobopodian known as Cardiodictyon catenulum, the surprise is that the brain survived at all and that it was made up of three components distinct from the nervous system.That's important because it suggests that the brain evolved separately from the head and the nervous system.It had…

Artist’s impression of an individual 525-million-year-old Cardiodictyon catenulum on the shallow coastal sea floor, emerging from the shelter of a small stromatolite built by photosynthetic bacteria. Credit: Nicholas Strausfeld/University of ArizonaAccording to a new study, fossils of a tiny sea creature with a delicately preserved nervous system solve a century-old debate over how the brain evolved in arthropods, the most species-rich group in the animal kingdom.Fossils of a tiny sea creature that died more than half a…

Credit: Shutterstock You face a dilemma. You've found the perfect shirt, and it's an absolute bargain, but you notice it's "Made in Bangladesh." You're conscious it was probably made using cheap labour. Do you buy it, or walk away? Today Oxfam released its annual Naughty or Nice list. This list highlights retail brands committed to…

According to a new study that used fetal MRI imaging, consumption of alcohol even in low to moderate amounts during pregnancy can change the baby’s brain structure and delay brain development.Drinking alcohol even in low to moderate amounts during pregnancy can change the baby’s brain structure and delay brain development, according to a new MRI study. Next week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), the results of the study will be presented.“Fetal MRI is a highly specialized and safe…