Subconscious mental categories help brain sort through everyday experiences
(Medical Xpress)—Your brain knows it's time to cook when the stove is on, and the food and pots are out. When you rush away to calm a crying child, though, cooking is over and it's time to be a parent....
View ArticleLab boost for precious anti-malaria drug
US scientists on Wednesday said they had used baker's yeast to make a key ingredient of malaria drugs, a feat that could iron out fluctuations in supply caused by sourcing the chemical from a Chinese...
View ArticleScientists use nature against nature to develop an antibiotic with reduced...
A new broad range antibiotic, developed jointly by scientists at The Rockefeller University and Astex Pharmaceuticals, has been found to kill a wide range of bacteria, including drug-resistant...
View ArticleFirst objective measure of pain discovered in brain scan patterns
For the first time, scientists have been able to predict how much pain people are feeling by looking at images of their brains, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder.
View ArticleAntibiotic prescribing rates vary by region
(HealthDay)—The chances that your doctor will give you antibiotics when you're sick may be influenced by geography, new research reveals.
View ArticleNew study shows different brains have similar responses to music
Do the brains of different people listening to the same piece of music actually respond in the same way? An imaging study by Stanford University School of Medicine scientists says the answer is yes,...
View ArticleResearchers show brain's battle for attention
(Medical Xpress)—We've all been there: You're at work deeply immersed in a project when suddenly you start thinking about your weekend plans. It happens because behind the scenes, parts of your brain...
View ArticlePET scans monitor brain circuits activated by light, opening new window to...
(Medical Xpress)—Building on their history of innovative brain-imaging techniques, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborators have developed a new...
View ArticleNew learning and memory neurons uncovered
(Medical Xpress)—A University of Queensland study has identified precisely when new neurons become important for learning.
View ArticleMusicians who learn a new melody demonstrate enhanced skill after a night's...
(Medical Xpress)—A new study that examined how the brain learns and retains motor skills provides insight into musical skill.
View ArticleHidden dangers in the air we breathe
(Medical Xpress)—For decades, no one worried much about the air quality inside people's homes unless there was secondhand smoke or radon present. Then scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's...
View ArticleNeuroscientists create phantom sensations in non-amputees
The sensation of having a physical body is not as self-evident as one might think. Almost everyone who has had an arm or leg amputated experiences a phantom limb: a vivid sensation that the missing...
View ArticleUnusual suspect: Scientists find 'second fiddle' protein's role in Type 2...
A team of researchers at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center has found that a protein long believed to have a minor role in type 2 diabetes is, in fact, a central player in the development of the...
View ArticleDespite what you may think, your brain is a mathematical genius
The irony of getting away to a remote place is you usually have to fight traffic to get there. After hours of dodging dangerous drivers, you finally arrive at that quiet mountain retreat, stare at the...
View ArticleGenetic master controls expose cancers' Achilles' heel
In a surprising finding that helps explain fundamental behaviors of normal and diseased cells, Whitehead Institute scientists have discovered a set of powerful gene regulators dubbed "super-enhancers"...
View ArticleFractalkine: New protein target for controlling diabetes
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a previously unknown biological mechanism involved in the regulation of pancreatic islet beta cells, whose role...
View ArticleCell-destroyer that fights and promotes TB reveals what's behind its split...
Tumor necrosis factor—normally an infection-fighting substance produced by the body—can actually heighten susceptibility to tuberculosis if its levels are too high. University of Washington TB...
View ArticleSound stimulation during sleep can enhance memory
Slow oscillations in brain activity, which occur during so-called slow-wave sleep, are critical for retaining memories. Researchers reporting online April 11 in the Cell Press journal Neuron have found...
View ArticleMutations found in individuals with autism interfere with endocannabinoid...
Mutations found in individuals with autism block the action of molecules made by the brain that act on the same receptors that marijuana's active chemical acts on, according to new research reported...
View ArticleDo drugs for bipolar disorder 'normalize' brain gene function? Study suggests so
Every day, millions of people with bipolar disorder take medicines that help keep them from swinging into manic or depressed moods. But just how these drugs produce their effects is still a mystery.
View Article