Results from a phase 2 clinical trial reveal that a new two-drug therapy for ALS can slow disease progression by six weeks over a six-month period. This therapy could possibly improve lifespan and quality of life, and may be effective in other neurodegenerative disorders as well. Continue reading Slowing ALS with a Two-Drug Therapy
Materials engineers at MIT have developed a new, more reliable design for a “memristor,” a component of computer circuits that could revolutionize artificial intelligence, improve efficiency of learning, lower energy costs, and fundamentally change the design of computers. Continue reading Thinking with Memristors
Bioengineers from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh have developed a new computational algorithm to improve the function of brain-computer interfaces. This algorithm works by finding common patterns of activity over time and outperforms the existing best algorithms. Continue reading Decoding Your Brain: The Search for Stability at the Brain-Computer Interface
Scientists use 3D printed brain tissue and cancer to quickly test drug efficacy. Continue reading 3D-Printed Brain Helps Scientists Study Cancer and Test Drugs
Researchers at Max Planck Institute for Brain Research have discovered a mammalian claustrum in reptiles, believed to impact decision-making and consciousness. The study hints at the claustrum’s prehistoric existence, in mammals, reptiles, and possibly their common ancestor. Continue reading Study finds a classically mammalian brain region in reptilian brains
New research from Cedars-Sinai suggests that patients with young-onset Parkinson’s may have been born with the beginnings of the disorder. Continue reading People With Young-Onset Parkinson’s May Have Been Born With It
Electrical recordings from human subjects have revealed the existence of memory-trace cells, which change their response depending on which previous experience is supposed to be recalled, providing a major insight into how the brain remembers specific events. Continue reading Learning to Remember: Memory-Trace Cells
Brain-machine interfaces translate brain signals into information that can be used to control robotic limbs, and now even predict an individual’s mood state. Researchers envision using BMIs together with electrical stimulation, to regulate abnormal brain signals in patients with treatment-resistant neuropsychiatric disorders. Continue reading Brain-machine interfaces may be used to study and regulate mood
Researchers have developed a minimally-invasive and precise brain drug delivery system that is controlled by an external magnetic field. Read Anqi Zhang’s article to learn more about neuron modulation by drug delivery! Continue reading Magnetic field-controlled drug delivery to the brain
Researchers from the Yale School of Medicine have developed a system capable of sustaining certain aspects of brain function for several hours, even if the host animal has been dead for up to four hours beforehand. While this by no means suggests that complete restoration of neurological function is on the horizon, it reveals the surprising resilience of post-mortem brain tissue, introduces a promising technique that could allow scientists to study certain biological functions outside of live animals, and highlights the important ethical considerations that must be discussed before any potential complete resuscitation of neurological activity is achieved. Continue reading Pigs & Immortality: A Step Towards Reversing Death