Traumatic brain injury (TBI) carries a high risk of death or disability, owing in part to a lack of treatment options. In previous studies, Louis Argenta (Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, NC) and colleagues found that controlled application of negative pressure to localized areas of TBI in rats promoted healing and improved outcomes. WithContinueContinue reading “Negative pressure limits traumatic brain damage”
Category Archives: research news
Locating ‘working memory’ in crows
Intelligence relies in part on ‘working memory,’ which temporarily stores information needed for ongoing cognitive processes. In mammals, working memory is housed in the prefrontal cortex. Corvids (birds including crows and ravens) are known for their intelligence and also have a working memory. But their brain structure is different from that of mammals and lacksContinueContinue reading “Locating ‘working memory’ in crows”
Wiping out malaria by wiping out mosquitoes
Scientists have developed a radical new strategy for eradicating malaria, which remains a global health threat despite prevention and control activities. Distorting the sex ratio of Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes, the primary malaria vectors, to heavily favor males, which do not bite humans or transmit the disease, effectively eliminated mosquito populations in the lab. Lab Anim.ContinueContinue reading “Wiping out malaria by wiping out mosquitoes”
Bromine is essential to animal development
In a paper published in Cell (157, 1380–1392; 2014), researchers led by Billy G. Hudson (Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN) report that the chemical element bromine is essential for tissue development in animals, from fruit flies to humans. “Without bromine, there are no animals,” said Hudson in a press release. Lab Anim. (NY) 43, 258 (2014).ContinueContinue reading “Bromine is essential to animal development”
With oxytocin, old muscles act like new
As we age, the ability of our tissues to maintain homeostasis and to repair themselves declines, eventually leading to organ degeneration and failure. Aging of muscle tissue is characterized by deficient muscle regeneration after injury and by altered muscle function and associated atrophy, known as sarcopenia. Some previous work suggests that the age-related decline inContinueContinue reading “With oxytocin, old muscles act like new”
Immune therapy for liver cancer
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of liver cancer in the US, is often treated by removing the tumor. But relapse after resection is very common, and there are currently no effective therapies for reducing recurrence. Approaches that activate a patient’s immune system to fight cancer recurrence have been tested but so far haveContinueContinue reading “Immune therapy for liver cancer”
Doubling up on burn protection
Treatment of major burns typically requires removing the damaged skin and covering the wound. If a graft of the patient’s own tissue is unavailable, tissue from a deceased donor may be used instead. Donor grafts have several drawbacks, chief being their rejection by the patient’s immune system within about 12 days. Subsequent donor grafts willContinueContinue reading “Doubling up on burn protection”
Stem cell therapy for multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system destroys the myelin that surrounds nerve fibers, inhibiting nerve impulses, impairing mobility and vision and causing fatigue and pain. Many researchers, including Thomas Lane (then working at University of California, Irvine) and Jeanne Loring (The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA), work to developContinueContinue reading “Stem cell therapy for multiple sclerosis”
A block that slows neurodegeneration
Results presented by Lynn Raymond (University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada) at the 2014 Canadian Neuroscience Meeting held 25–28 May in Montreal show that blocking specific glutamate receptors in the brain improved motor learning and coordination and prevented cell death in a mouse model of Huntington disease. Huntington disease can be detected before any clinicalContinueContinue reading “A block that slows neurodegeneration”
The heart of an endurance athlete
Physical activity has many positive effects on the cardiovascular system, but intense endurance training can also be detrimental. Athletes, especially those with a long training history, are more likely to develop arrhythmias. Sinus bradycardia (a slow resting heart rate) is the most common training-associated arrhythmia. Although it is often a benign physiological adaptation to maintainContinueContinue reading “The heart of an endurance athlete”
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