Tag: scientists

Last year the rather religious sounding film The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was released in the US. It documents the tragic real life story of a young woman who died in the early 1950s due to rapidly growing ovarian cancer. The ‘immortal’ part refers to her cancer cells, which scientists at the John Hopkins

Scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have for the first time found direct causal links between the neurotransmitter dopamine and avoidance—behavior related to pain and fear. Researchers have long known that dopamine plays a key role in driving behavior related to pleasurable goals, such as food, sex and social interaction. In general,

New research, published in Biological Reviews and conducted by researchers from the University of Liverpool and Escola Superior de Ciências da Saúde (Brasília, Brazil) has found some type of cancers unique to humans may be a result of evolutionary accidents. Cancer is a major cause of death worldwide. But humans are not the only species

For decades, the neuroscience community has been baffled by the existence of dense connections in the brain that seem to be going “backwards.” These connections, which span extensively across distant areas of the neocortex, are clearly conveying important information. But until now, the organization of the connections, and therefore their possible role, was largely unknown.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a viral disease spread by ticks in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and parts of Europe. Infection with CCHF virus is fatal in nearly one of every three cases. No specific treatments or vaccines for CCHF exist, primarily because a suitable animal model for studying the disease has not been

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a viral disease spread by ticks in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and parts of Europe. Infection with CCHF virus is fatal in nearly one of every three cases. No specific treatments or vaccines for CCHF exist, primarily because a suitable animal model for studying the disease has not been

An advance by UCLA neuroscientists could lead to a better understanding of astrocytes, a star-shaped brain cell believed to play a key role in neurological disorders like Lou Gehrig’s, Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease. Reported in Neuron, the new method enables researchers to peer deep inside a mouse’s brain and watch astrocytes’ influence over nerve-cell communication