A unique quantum effect in biology could be the key to understanding a common marker of Alzheimer’s, raising questions about current assumptions of the disease and informing the search for a cure.
A multi-university research team co-led by University of Virginia engineering professor Gustavo K. Rohde has developed a system that can spot genetic markers of autism in brain images with 89 to 95% accuracy.
Their findings suggest that doctors may one day see, classify and treat autism and related neurological conditions with this method, without having to rely on or wait for behavioral cues. And that means this truly personalized medicine could result in earlier interventions.
“Autism is traditionally diagnosed behaviorally but has a strong genetic basis. A genetics-first approach could transform understanding and treatment of autism,” the researchers wrote in a paper published in the journal Science Advances.
A long-running research endeavor reveals key chemical players that cement memories in place—and still more have yet to be discovered.
By Simon Makin
The persistence of memory is crucial to our sense of identity, and without it, there would be no learning, for us or any other animal. It’s little wonder, then, that some researchers have called how the brain stores memories the most fundamental question in neuroscience.
In his new book, to be published in September, neuroscientist Francisco Aboitiz links consciousness back to the earliest days of biological life.
Like a highway system, the vagus nerve branches profusely from your brain through your organs to marshal bodily functions, including aspects of mind such as mood, pleasure and fear.
Researchers at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) have developed a revolutionary miniaturized brain-machine interface (MiBMI) that converts brain activity directly into text. This breakthrough technology, housed on silicon chips with a total area of just 8mm², marks a significant advancement in brain-computer interface technology.
The study, published in the IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits and presented at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference, highlights a device that could dramatically improve communication for individuals with severe motor impairments.
During her PhD research at Johns Hopkins University, Klein learned how sex hormones can influence the brain and behavior.
A handful of immunologists are pushing the field to take attributes such as sex chromosomes, sex hormones, and reproductive tissues into account.
A new automated device can diagnose glioblastoma in under an hour using a novel electrokinetic biochip that detects active EGFRs from blood.
The study, published by a multi-institutional team of researchers…
Researchers used D-Wave’s quantum computing technology to explore the relationship between prefrontal brain activity and academic achievement, particularly focusing on the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) scores in South Korea.
The study, published by a multi-institutional team of researchers across Korea in Scientific Reports, relied on functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure brain signals during various cognitive tasks and then applied a quantum annealing algorithm to identify patterns correlating with higher academic performance.
Gold does not readily lend itself to being turned into long, thin threads. But researchers at Linköping University in Sweden have now managed to create gold nanowires and develop soft electrodes that can be connected to the nervous system. The electrodes are soft as nerves, stretchable and electrically conductive, and are projected to last for a long time in the body.
Some people have a “heart of gold,” so why not “nerves of gold”? In the future, it may be possible to use this precious metal in soft interfaces to connect electronics to the nervous system for medical purposes. Such technology could be used to alleviate conditions such as epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, paralysis or chronic pain. However, creating an interface where electronics can meet the brain or other parts of the nervous system poses special challenges.
“The classical conductors used in electronics are metals, which are very hard and rigid. The mechanical properties of the nervous system are more reminiscent of soft jelly. In order to get an accurate signal transmission, we need to get very close to the nerve fibres in question, but as the body is constantly in motion, achieving close contact between something that is hard and something that is soft and fragile becomes a problem,” says Klas Tybrandt, professor of materials science at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics at Linköping University, who led the research.
