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Category: neuroscience

Just a few weeks after conception, stem cells are already orchestrating the future structure of the human brain. A new Yale-led study shows that, early in development, molecular “traffic cops” known as morphogens regulate the activation of gene programs that initiate stem cells’ differentiation into more specialized brain cells.

The Yale team found that sensitivity to these signaling morphogens can vary not only between stem cells from different donors, but between stem cells derived from the same individual.

“This is a new chapter in understanding how we develop and how development can be influenced by genomic changes between people and by within individuals,” said Flora Vaccarino, the Harris Professor in the Child Study Center at the Yale School of Medicine (YSM) and co-senior author of the research, published in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

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When a fruit fly is navigating straight forward at high speed, why does it know that it’s not straying off course? Because as long as the fly moves directly forward, the visual scene shifts from front to back in a near-perfect mirror image across both retinas—generating, in other words, a symmetrical visual motion pattern. This pattern, known as “optic flow,” provides a powerful cue for detecting self-motion and maintaining direction.

Moreover, at high speeds, as soon as the fly starts deviating from its straight-ahead course even slightly, the optic flow becomes less symmetrical. But the high level of translational symmetry due to the fly’s high-speed forward motion could mask smaller binocular asymmetries caused by slight rotational inflections in its trajectory.

Therefore, detecting such “errors” and correcting them at the motor level is not trivial and must happen very quickly. Only then will the fly ensure it continues to move straight forward, as intended.

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Caffeine shifts brain activity during sleep by increasing EEG complexity and reducing long-range temporal correlations, particularly in non-REM (NREM) sleep. These changes reflect a movement toward a “critical regime” of neural processing, more pronounced in younger adults.

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Human beings exhibit marked differences in habits, lifestyles and behavioral tendencies. One of these differences, known as chronotype, is the inclination to sleep and wake up early or alternatively to sleep and wake up late.

Changes in society, such as the introduction of portable devices and video streaming services, may have also influenced people’s behavioral patterns, offering them further distractions that could occupy their evenings or late nights. Yet past studies have found that sleeping and waking up late is often linked to a higher risk of being diagnosed with , such as depression and , as well as poorer physical health.

Understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of humans’ chronotypes, as well as the possible implications of being a so-called “morning person” or “night owl,” could thus be beneficial. Specifically, it could inform the development of lifestyle interventions or designed to promote healthy sleeping patterns.

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A specialized model used by researchers is becoming a valuable tool for studying human brain development, diseases and potential treatments, according to a team of scientists at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.

Known as chimeric brain models, these laboratory tools provide a unique way to understand human brain functions in a living environment, which may lead to new and better therapies for , researchers said in a review article in Neuron.

Scientists create models by transplanting human brain cells culled from into the brains of animals such as mice, thereby creating a mix of human and animal brain cells in the same brain. This environment is closer to the complexity of a living human brain than what can be simulated in a petri dish study.

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Over the past several decades, human lifespan has steadily increased. However, this progress has also led to a growing proportion of the population suffering from age-related diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, and diabetes. Extending both lifespan and healthspan, the period of life spent in good health, requires a deeper understanding of the biological mechanisms that promote healthy aging.

In the natural world, mammalian lifespans vary enormously, ranging from just 1 to 2 years in some rodents to more than a century in species.

A species is a group of living organisms that share a set of common characteristics and are able to breed and produce fertile offspring. The concept of a species is important in biology as it is used to classify and organize the diversity of life. There are different ways to define a species, but the most widely accepted one is the biological species concept, which defines a species as a group of organisms that can interbreed and produce viable offspring in nature. This definition is widely used in evolutionary biology and ecology to identify and classify living organisms.

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In a study published Wednesday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, University of Oklahoma researchers detail their discoveries about why the brain tumor glioblastoma is so aggressive. Their findings center on ZIP4, a protein that transports zinc throughout the body and sets off a cascade of events that drive tumor growth.

About half of all malignant brain tumors are glioblastomas, the deadliest form of brain cancer with a median survival rate of 14 months.

“Surgery for glioblastoma is very challenging, and patients almost always experience a relapse,” said the study’s senior author, Min Li, Ph.D., a professor of medicine, surgery and at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. “By better understanding why these brain tumors are so aggressive, we hope to open up paths for new treatments.”

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AUSTIN, Texas — Editor’s note: A previous version of this story stated an incorrect percentage in one of the quotes from State Rep. Jared Patterson. This article has been updated to reflect the correct information.

The Texas House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday that would restrict the access of minors to social media.

State Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Frisco), who authored House Bill 186, said the legislation was born out of concerns over the mental health and safety of young users.

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Scientists looking to tackle our ongoing obesity crisis have made an important discovery: Intermittent calorie restriction leads to significant changes both in the gut and the brain, which may open up new options for maintaining a healthy weight.

Researchers from China studied 25 volunteers classed as obese over a period of 62 days, during which they took part in an intermittent energy restriction (IER) program – a regime that involves careful control of calorie intake and relative fasting on some days.

Not only did the participants in the study lose weight – 7.6 kilograms (16.8 pounds) or 7.8 percent of their body weight on average – there was also evidence of shifts in the activity of obesity-related regions of the brain, and in the make-up of gut bacteria.

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