New brain cells listen before they talk

jimmy submitted, created time 1 year 3 weeks (www.eurekalert.org)

Newly-created neurons in adults rely on signals from distant brain regions to regulate their maturation and survival -- which has implications for using adult stem cells to replace those lost by trauma or neurodegeneration.

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Key to longer life (in flies) lies in just 14 brain cells

carly submitted, created time 1 year 2 months (www.eurekalert.org)

Fruit flies live significantly longer when the activity of the protein p53 is reduced in just 14 insulin-producing cells in their brains, new Brown University research shows. The results put scientists one step closer to understanding caloric restriction, a biochemical process proven to slow aging. Results appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Drug protects brain cells in Huntington's disease model, researchers find

bianjie submitted, created time 1 year 3 months (www.eurekalert.org)

A drug used in some countries to treat the symptoms of Huntington's disease prevents death of brain cells in mice genetically engineered to mimic the hereditary condition, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

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Adults Brains Still Make Youthful Cells

Mouse maps of gene expression in the brain

annatto submitted, created time 1 year 5 months (genomebiology.com)

"The completion of the Allen Brain Atlas generated a great deal of press interest and enthusiasm from the research community. What does it do, and what other complementary resources increase its functionality?....."

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Diseased Brain Cells Involved In ALS Motor Neuron Death

Dolly submitted, created time 1 year 6 months (www.medicalnewstoday.com)

"Two papers by Columbia and Harvard researchers report for the first time that astrocytes (the most abundant non-neuronal cells in the central nervous system), which carry a mutated gene known to cause some cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS/Lou Gehrig's disease), induce motor neuron death. This indicates that astrocytes may contribute to ALS by releasing a toxic factor that damages neurons

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3 proteins may play important role in nerve-cell repair

athena submitted, created time 1 year 7 months (www.biologynews.net)

"Some mature brain cells can grow new extensions when the amount of three particular proteins on their surface increases, a new study shows. "

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Hypoglycemic neuronal death is triggered by glucose reperfusion and activation of neuronal NADPH oxidase

athena submitted, created time 1 year 7 months (www.jci.org)

"Hypoglycemic coma and brain injury are potential complications of insulin therapy. Certain neurons in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex are uniquely vulnerable to hypoglycemic cell death, and oxidative stress is a key event in this cell death process."

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Like Goldilocks, mice know a bed that's 'just right'

badboy submitted, created time 1 year 7 months (www.newscientist.com)

'Just like Goldilocks, mice have an innate sense of what makes a good bed: a specific group of cells in their brains becomes active when they see a potential nesting spot – but only if it perfectly matches their size. "

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Researchers hot on the trail of brain cell degeneration

Paramecium submitted, created time 1 year 8 months (www.biologynews.net)

A research team headed by Academy Research Fellow Michael Courtney has identified a new molecular pathway in neurons. The pathway is a factor in the degeneration of brain cells, which in turn plays an important role in neurological conditions and diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy and stroke. Courtney and his team, based at the A. I. Virtanen Institute of the University of Kuopio, joined forces with Docent Eleanor Coffey's team at the Turku Centre for Biotechnology to carry out the study as part of a series of successful collaborations between the two teams

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