Scientists say they have identified a compound that dramatically bolsters learning and memory when given to mice with a Down syndrome-like condition. Given on the day of birth, the single-dose treatment appears to enable the cerebellum of the rodents’ brains to grow to a normal size. Reporting their findings in Science Translational Medicine, the scientists […]
Indiana University researchers say they have found a series of RNA biomarkers in blood that may help identify who is at risk for committing suicide. Reporting their findings in the journalMolecular Psychiatry, the researchers said the biomarkers were found at significantly higher levels in the blood of both suicidal bipolar disorder patients as well in […]
A new way to look at cancer – by tracing its evolutionary roots to the dawn of multicellular life more than a billion years ago – could transform cancer therapy by linking cancer’s beginnings to the origin of life and the developmental processes of embryos. The new work, by researchers from Arizona State University and […]
How do ideas spread? Why do some videos go viral? UCLA scientists have taken a first step toward answering these questions by identifying the brain regions associated with the successful spread of ideas. The research, reported in the journalPsychological Science, has broad implications and could lead to more persuasive advertisements and better ways for teachers […]
A new study into antibiotic resistance in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy points the finger of blame squarely at the oral ingestion of antibiotics. Using intravenous or transdermal methods of delivery, say the researchers, could significantly slow the spread of antibiotic resistance. “For more than 40 years, a few doses of penicillin were enough […]
Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute is trying a new approach to developing effective, topical antibacterial agents – one that draws on a naturally occurring substance recognized since antiquity for its medicinal properties: clay. The medicinal use of clay can be traced back 5,000 years, when it was documented in the ancient tablets of Nippur as […]
A new study in The American Journal of Medicine has found that regular marijuana use is associated with beneficial effects related to diabetic control. The researchers showed that current marijuana users had significantly lower fasting insulin and were less likely to be insulin resistant. The findings, they stress, held true even after excluding patients with […]
In a discovery suggesting that odors may have a far more important role in life than previously supposed, scientists have found that heart, blood, lung, and other areas of the body have the same olfactory receptors for sensing odors that exist in the nose. Lead researcher Peter Schieberle, of the Technical University of Munich, presented […]
The inability to write a coherent text message may become an important tool in diagnosing a type of crippling stroke that does not affect the patient’s speaking ability, say medicos at Henry Ford Hospital. The researchers cite a case where a 40-year-old man showed signs of “dystextia,” a recently coined term for incoherent text messaging […]
A new University of Illinois study has established a possible link between high-fat diets and childhood cognitive conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and memory-dependent learning disabilities. The research, published inPsychoneuroendocrinology, found that altered dopamine signaling (previously associated with anxiety behaviors in children) in the brain is common to both ADHD and the […]
