Is cellphone use detrimental to mental health? A new study from the University of Illinois finds that addiction to, and not simply use of, mobile technology is linked to anxiety and depression in college-age students. Said U. of I. psychology professor Alejandro Lleras: “There’s a long history of the public fearing new technologies as they…
Laser Opens Blood-brain Barrier To Treat Glioblastoma
Neurosurgeons have used a laser probe to open the brain’s protective cover to deliver chemotherapy to patients with a deadly form of brain cancer. In a pilot study, 14 patients with glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive type of brain cancer, underwent minimally invasive laser surgery to treat a recurrence of their tumors. Heat from…
Induced XEN Cells, New Type Of Stem Cell Discovered
Scientists at Michigan State University have discovered a new kind of stem cell, one that could lead to advances in regenerative medicine as well as offer new ways to study birth defects and other reproductive problems. Tony Parenti, lead author and MSU cell and molecular biology graduate student, unearthed the new cells – induced XEN…
Broccoli May Offer Protection Against Liver Cancer
Consumption of broccoli has increased in the United States over the last few decades as scientists have reported that eating the vegetable three to five times per week can lower the risk of many types of cancer including breast, prostate, and colon cancers. A new study from the University of Illinois reports that including broccoli…
New Brain Inflammation Biomarker In Early-stage Alzheimer's
A brain inflammation marker in patients at early asymptomatic stages of Alzheimer’s disease has been identified by researchers at Ludwig-Maximilians-University, the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), and the Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (ISD) in Munich. This secreted marker molecule, which can be measured from cerebrospinal fluid taps, may provide clinicians with a…
Dendritic Cell Immunotherapy Gives Hope For Beating Brain Cancer
High-grade glioma is the most aggressive form of brain cancer. Despite improvements in surgical procedures, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, this type of brain tumour is still notoriously hard to treat: less than 10% of patients survive beyond five years. Researchers from KU Leuven, Belgium, have now shown that next-generation cell-based immunotherapy may offer new hope in…
Blocking Inflammation Prevents Neuronal Loss in Alzheimer’s Disease
Using a drug compound created to treat cancer, University of California, Irvine neurobiologists have disarmed the brain’s response to the distinctive beta-amyloid plaques that are the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Kim Green and colleagues with UCI’s Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders found that flushing away the abundant inflammatory cells produced in reaction to…
Dopamine Aids Aversive Contextual Learning
The brain chemical dopamine regulates how mice learn to avoid a disagreeable encounter, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Senior author John Dani, PhD, chair of the department of Neuroscience, said: “We know that dopamine reinforces ‘rewarding’ behaviors, but to our surprise, we have now shown…
What You Know Can Affect How You See
Objects, everything from cars, birds and faces to letters of the alphabet, look significantly different to people familiar with them, a new study suggests. Using the Arabic alphabet as a frame of reference, Johns Hopkins University researchers studied how experts in the language and novices viewed various letters and found clear evidence that visual processing…