Category Biology/Biotechnology

Research led by the National Institute of Biological Sciences in Beijing has discovered that switching on a single dormant gene enables mice to regenerate ear tissue.

Some vertebrates such as salamanders and fish can regenerate complex tissue structures with precision. A lost limb can be regrown, a damaged heart or eye can be repaired. Salamanders are so remarkable at reconstructing damaged tissues that even a spinal cord injury with severed neural motor connectivity can be restored.

Mammals occasionally showcase the ability to regenerate. Deer antlers and goat horns are examples of living tissue regeneration. Mice can regrow fingertips if they are lost. A healthy human liver can experience up to 70% loss of tissue and regrow to near full size within several weeks.

However, f...

USC researchers have developed a groundbreaking ultrasound device that could reduce our reliance on addictive painkillers. A groundbreaking wireless implant promises real-time, personalized pain relief using AI and ultrasound power no batteries, no wires, and no opioids. Designed by USC and UCLA engineers, it reads brain signals, adapts on the fly, and bends naturally with your spine.

Chronic pain is a debilitating condition that severely impacts quality of life, often leading to reliance on opioid medications with their severe side effects and addiction risks. According to the U.S. Pain Foundation, 51.6 million Americans live with chronic pain. For over 17 million sufferers, their chronic pain is high-impact – frequently limiting their life or work activities.

Current implant...

A recent study has shed light on the brain structure differences associated with psychopathy—a condition known to be one of the strongest predictors of persistent violent behavior.

The findings are published in the journal European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience.

Using advanced neuroimaging and the Julich-Brain Atlas, researchers from Forschungszentrum Jülich, RWTH Aachen University, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Georg August University, (Germany) and University of Pennsylvania (U.S.) have identified specific brain networks that appear to be structurally altered in individuals exhibiting psychopathic traits. The Atlas can be freely accessed via the EBRAINS Research Infrastructure.

The study examined structural MRI data from 39 adult male particip...

A common diabetes drug may be the next big thing for migraine relief. In a clinical study, obese patients with chronic migraines who took liraglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, experienced over 50% fewer headache days and significantly improved daily functioning without meaningful weight loss. Researchers believe the drugs ability to lower brain fluid pressure is the key, potentially opening a completely new way to treat migraines. The effects were fast, sustained, and came with only mild side effects.

A diabetes medication that lowers brain fluid pressure has cut monthly migraine days by more than half, according to a new study presented today at the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Congress 2025.1

Researchers at the Headache Center of the University of Naples “Federico II” ...