Lifeboat Foundation

Can we, as adults, grow new neurons? Neuroscientist Sandrine Thuret says that we can, and she offers research and practical advice on how we can help our brains better perform neurogenesis—improving mood, increasing memory formation and preventing the decline associated with aging along the way.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more.
Find closed captions and translated subtitles in many languages at http://www.ted.com/translate

Continue reading “You can grow new brain cells. Here’s how | Sandrine Thuret” »

Nearly a year in space changed Scott Kelly’s genes, brain function and more, NASA’s Twin Study shows.

The wars of the future will be fought in megacities around the world by soldiers connected — and possibly even augmented — by neural implants and AIn this episode, we examine how military leaders are preparing for a radical shift in combat.

Looking for more episodes? Find them wherever you listen to podcasts.

Subscribe.

Continue reading “The Next Battlefield: Connected, Augmented and Urban” »

Clusters of human brain cells can integrate into rat brains, and that’s raising concerns about giving animals some form of human consciousness.

Researchers can grow stem cells into tiny clumps of cells, called organoids, that display similar activity and structure to human brains. To find out more about how exactly that works, read our primer from when we made the technique one of our Ten Breakthrough Technologies of 2015.

Now, though, reports Stat, several labs have inserted those organoids into rat brains and connected them to blood vessels; some of the organoids have even grown physical links with the rat brains. From Stat’s report:

Continue reading “Tiny Human Brains Inside Rats Are Sparking Ethical Concern” »

It’s the first brain-computer interface to synthesize an entire sentence.

Silicon transistors and the brain don’t mix.

At least not optimally. As scientists and companies are increasingly exploring ways to interface your brain with computers, fashioning new hardware that conforms to and compliments our biological wetware becomes increasingly important.

To be fair, silicon transistors, when made into electrode arrays, can perform the basics: record neural signals, process and analyze them with increasingly sophisticated programs that detect patterns, which in turn can be used to stimulate the brain or control smart prosthetics.

Continue reading “A New Ion-Drive Transistor Is Here to Interface With Your Brain” »

University at Buffalo researchers have identified the first human-specific fusion gene—a hybrid of two genes—implicated in Alzheimer’s disease. The finding suggests that a neurotransmitter receptor, previously successful in animal studies but that failed in human trials for Alzheimer’s, might still turn out to be a valuable therapy.

In a paper published in February in Translational Psychiatry, the UB researchers reported that this human fusion gene acts on a receptor for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is involved in memory and learning, and which is reduced in people with Alzheimer’s.

The fusion gene is CHRFAM7A, which is very common in people and has been implicated in many neuropsychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disease.

Continue reading “Researchers have identified the first human-specific fusion gene” »

A mind-controlled hearing aid that allows the wearer to focus on particular voices has been created by scientists, who say it could transform the ability of those with hearing impairments to cope with noisy environments.

The device mimics the brain’s natural ability to single out and amplify one voice against background conversation. Until now, even the most advanced hearing aids work by boosting all voices at once, which can be experienced as a cacophony of sound for the wearer, especially in crowded environments.

Nima Mesgarani, who led the latest advance at Columbia University in New York, said: “The brain area that processes sound is extraordinarily sensitive and powerful. It can amplify one voice over others, seemingly effortlessly, while today’s hearing aids still pale in comparison.”

Continue reading “Scientists create mind-controlled hearing aid” »

In the first large-scale analysis of cancer gene fusions, which result from the merging of two previously separate genes, researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, EMBL-EBI, Open Targets, GSK and their collaborators have used CRISPR to uncover which gene fusions are critical for the growth of cancer cells. The team also identified a new gene fusion that presents a novel drug target for multiple cancers, including brain and ovarian cancers.

The results, published today (16 May) in Nature Communications, give more certainty for the use of specific gene fusions to diagnose and guide the treatment of patients. Researchers suggest existing drugs could be repurposed to treat some people with pancreatic, breast and lung cancers, based on the gene fusions found in their tumours.

Gene fusions, caused by the abnormal joining of two otherwise different genes, play an important role in the development of cancer. They are currently used as diagnostic tools to predict how particular cancer patients will respond to drugs, as well as prognostics, to estimate the outcome for a patient given the best possible care. They are also the targets of some of the latest targeted treatments for cancer.

Continue reading “CRISPR catches out critical cancer changes” »