Glioblastoma is an aggressive brain tumor that often infiltrates surrounding tissue. Surgery is frequently indicated to remove as much of the glioblastoma as possible. To this end, various technologies are being developed to improve the visualization of cancer cells and to maximize the amount of the tumor that can be safely removed. One example isContinueContinue reading “Marking cancer cells for removal”
Category Archives: research news
The importance of order in visual communication
Syntax, or the sequence of compositional elements, is known to be an important component of acoustic communication, but its relevance in visual communication has not been established. Kevin Woo (SUNY Empire State College, New York, NY) and Guillaume Rieucau (Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, Norway) assessed the role of syntax in visual communication in theContinueContinue reading “The importance of order in visual communication”
A biocompatible neural implant
The mechanical mismatch between soft neural tissues and stiff neural implants hinders the use of these devices. To overcome this obstacle, researchers at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland) led by Grégoire Courtine and Stéphanie Lacour sought to create neural implants with mechanical properties matching those of host tissues. They fashioned implants to mimic theContinueContinue reading “A biocompatible neural implant”
Thirst neurons identified in mice
Thirst is the fundamental instinct to drink water in response to dehydration. Neurons in a specific brain region called the subfornical organ (SFO) are activated by dehydration, leading investigators at Columbia University (New York, NY) to suspect that this region is involved in thirst regulation. Yuki Oka, Mingyu Ze and Charles Zuker explored this notionContinueContinue reading “Thirst neurons identified in mice”
Adaptive immunity in stress resilience
Mood and behavior are controlled by reciprocal associations between the central nervous system and peripheral systems including the immune system. Lymphocytes, the cells of the adaptive immune system, are affected by chronic stress, but it is not known how ‘stressed’ lymphocytes affect behavior in return. Miles Herkenham and his team at National Institutes of HealthContinueContinue reading “Adaptive immunity in stress resilience”
A nap to remember
Sleep and memory are closely related. In fruit flies, rodents and humans, sleep deprivation impairs memory consolidation, whereas sleep improves memory. But the physiological nature of the relationship between sleep and memory is poorly understood. Does the mechanism that promotes sleep also consolidate memory, or are there two separate processes at work? Paula Haynes, BethanyContinueContinue reading “A nap to remember”
A spinal neural circuit keeps mice moving
Among many other jobs, the nervous system uses streams of information gathered from multiple senses to guide movement. The eyes detect obstacles. Balance gauges in the ears keep the head level. And sensors in the muscles and joints monitor limb position. Much of the resulting flood of information is preprocessed by sensory circuits before itContinueContinue reading “A spinal neural circuit keeps mice moving”
Using the whole plant to treat malaria
The development of drug resistance is a primary factor in the failure of malaria treatment strategies. For example, artemisinin is the drug most commonly used to treat human malaria worldwide, but some malaria parasites have developed resistance to it. Overcoming the development of resistance is therefore a key objective in the search for improved malariaContinueContinue reading “Using the whole plant to treat malaria”
Mouse model to clarify ovarian clear-cell carcinoma
Ovarian clear-cell carcinoma (OCCC) is an aggressive form of cancer. Although its incidence is not high, accounting for 5–20% of all epithelial ovarian cancers (EOCs), it has a poorer prognosis, higher recurrence and lower survival than other EOC types, particularly when diagnosed at advanced stages. A better understanding of OCCC development and progression could leadContinueContinue reading “Mouse model to clarify ovarian clear-cell carcinoma”
Chicks go left for less, right for more
Most humans think of numbers as being ranged along a horizontal line, called the mental number line (MNL), with smaller values located to the left and larger values to the right. Relativity is a fundamental characteristic of the MNL: for example, in the numerical range of 1–9, 9 is located on the right, whereas inContinueContinue reading “Chicks go left for less, right for more”
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