Category Health/Medical

In this study, Drago and Davis show that inhibition of mitochondrial calcium entry in Drosophila mushroom body neurons during development impairs fly memory without altering their capacity to learn. In addition, they show associated defects in the structure and synaptic vesicle content of mushroom body neurons.

TSRI Scientists offer new insights how calcium in mitochondria can impact the development of the brain and adult cognition. In particular, the team showed in fruit flies, a widely used model system, that blocking a channel that brings calcium to the mitochondria, called “mitochondrial calcium uniporter,” causes memory impairment but does not alter learning capacity...

A soft, gel-like substance called myelin envelopes the axons of neurons to shield them from damage. In ALS, the protective sheath is gradually stripped off, leaving axons bare, exposed and vulnerable to damage. Harvard Medical School researchers have identified a key instigator of this process.

Scientists have identified a key instigator of nerve cell damage in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. Researchers say the findings of their study may lead to new therapies to halt the progression of the uniformly fatal disease that affects more than 30,000 Americans. One such treatment is already under development for testing in humans after the current study showed it stopped nerve cell damage in mice with ALS.

The HMS study reveals that the aberrant behavior of an enzyme called RI...

UT Southwestern researchers (l-r) Dr. Chaofeng Yang, Lisa Hahner, Dr. Perry Bickel, and Dr. Violetta Gallardo Montejano identified a new role for a protein as a promoter of fat breakdown. Credit: UT Southwestern Medical Center

A protein often located on the surface of fat droplets within cells – and especially abundant in the muscles of endurance athletes – can kick-start the more efficient and healthful breakdown of fat. More than 29 million Americans have diabetes, and it is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the American Diabetes Association. Almost 26% of Americans age 65 and older have diabetes. The study reports a new role for the protein, Perilipin 5, in the cell nucleus as a regulator of fat metabolism...

neurotransmission

The bioelectronic neural pixel: Chemical stimulation and electrical sensing at the same site. A small device both detects the initial signal of an epileptic attack and doses a substance that effectively stops it. All this takes place where the signal arises – in an area of size 20×20 μm known as a “neural pixel.” According to a recently produced estimate, no less than 6% of the Earth’s population suffers from some type of neurological illness such as epilepsy or Parkinson’s. Some medicines are available, but when these are taken orally or injected into the bloodstream, they also end up where they aren’t needed and may cause serious problems. All medicines have more or less severe side effects.

The small 20×20 μm device developed by the scientists can both capture signal...