An ambitious project is underway to build the world’s smallest electronic nose. If the project succeeds, it is expected that the technology would have many potential applications in areas such as environmental monitoring, healthcare and food safety. The aim is to combine the odour sensors together with the signal processing components on to a single silicon chip, around a square centimetre in size. The instrument would require very little power and could be held comfortably in the palm of the hand. © The University of Warwick, 2001. All rights reserved

Keyword: Chemical Senses (Smell & Taste); Robotics
Link ID: 1629 - Posted: 06.24.2010

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL--Researchers at the University of Minnesota department of neurosurgery and Stem Cell Institute (SCI) have demonstrated the ability of transplanted adult stem cells to restore function in laboratory animals with stroke. Stem cells were isolated and expanded from human bone marrow and transplanted into laboratory rats seven days after an ischemic stroke injury to the brain. Before transplantation, rats were unable to properly use forelimbs and hind limbs. Weeks after receiving stem cell transplants, the animals regained proper use of their limbs. The study is reported in the March 2002 issue of Experimental Neurology. Walter Low, Ph.D., a professor of neurosurgery, was the principal investigator for the study. Other investigators were Li-Ru Zhao, M.D., a research associate in the department of neurosurgery, Catherine Verfaillie, M.D., director of the Stem Cell Institute, and Morayma Reyes, a medical and doctoral student in the Medical School. Previous studies from these investigators demonstrated that adult stem cells isolated from human bone marrow could be induced to differentiate into different types of cells when grown in tissue culture. In the present study, the transplanted stem cells were found to develop into cells that exhibited the characteristics of neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendroglia, the major types of cells found within the brain.

Keyword: Stroke; Stem Cells
Link ID: 1628 - Posted: 03.05.2002

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Certain species of salamanders and lizards can actually hear through their lungs, according to a new study at Ohio State University. The research extends previous studies showing that some types of earless frogs and toads use their lungs to pick up sound vibrations, said Thomas Hetherington, an associate professor of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology at Ohio State. The results of the current study suggest lung-based hearing may exist in a variety of land-based animals. "This primitive system of hearing may have been the auditory system for the first animals that lived on land," Hetherington said. "And it appears that it may still be important for some species today, particularly ones that lack middle ears."

Keyword: Hearing; Evolution
Link ID: 1627 - Posted: 03.05.2002

Small doses of ecstasy can cause brain damage, with scientists warning the drug has the potential to cause memory loss and psychological problems. Major health problems could be expected in the future for ecstasy users, University of Adelaide researcher Rod Irvine has found. Small doses could cause harm and the drug seemed to work on one main type of brain cell, he said. © 1997-2001 ninemsn Pty Ltd - All rights reserved

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 1626 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition Colour-changing frog cells could be used to detect performance-enhancing drugs and leave cheating athletes red-faced. Sensors based on the cells can pick up traces of drugs in body fluids, and could even detect new drugs that other methods fail to pick up. Some frogs, such as the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis), change colour to cope with sunlight and heat and also to improve their camouflage. They do this by activating cells in their skin that contain granules of melanin, the dark brown pigment. These colour-changing cells, called melanophores, are normally dark but can be triggered by a particular hormone released in the frog. When the hormone binds to the cell wall, it sets off a reaction that moves the pigment granules to the centre of the cell, making it look colourless. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 1625 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Parent survey connects snoring and sleepiness with attention and hyperactivity issues ANN ARBOR, MI – Children who snore often are nearly twice as likely as other children to have attention and hyperactivity problems, and the link is strong for other sleep problems, a new University of Michigan Health System study finds. The results, published in the March issue of the journal Pediatrics, provide some of the most solid evidence ever of a link between sleep problems and behavior. The link is strongest in boys under 8 years of age; habitual snorers in this group were more than three times more likely than non-snorers to be hyperactive. The study, based on a survey of the parents of 866 children that was conducted in the waiting rooms of U-M pediatrics clinics, is among the largest ever to explore the connection between sleep and inattention/hyperactivity. While the study does not provide any clues as to whether and how sleep problems might contribute to behavior issues, or vice versa, the evidence of a link between the two is strong enough to warrant further and thorough investigation, says lead author Ronald Chervin, M.D., M.S., director of the Michael S. Aldrich Sleep Disorders Laboratory and associate professor of neurology at the U-M Medical School.

Keyword: ADHD; Sleep
Link ID: 1624 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Since its introduction in 1985, researchers have used transcranial magnetic stimulation as a research tool to gain many insights into the physiology of the brain. Now, increasing research suggests that the technique, which uses a powerful electromagnet discharge to alter brain activity, may also hold promise as a treatment. Research indicates that those with depression and a variety of other brain illnesses may benefit. Day after day, you pay little attention to the strawberry magnet that keeps your grocery list neatly tacked to the fridge. But now, following a series of careful studies, neuroscientists report that some magnets and the special forces they produce deserve a second look. Specifically, research indicates that powerful magnetic fields used in a technique known as transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, can alter and sometimes aid brain activity. The findings are leading to: * A better understanding of the effect of magnetic fields on the brain. * New ideas on how to treat brain illnesses, such as depression. Copyright © 2002 Society for Neuroscience

Keyword: Brain imaging; Miscellaneous
Link ID: 1622 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Imagine never being able to communicate with your child - him unable to speak and your words muddled by his brain. BBC News Online's Jane Elliott talked to one family about their son's battle to 'talk'. Every new parent longs for the thrill of their child's first word but this was a joy Sarah Harris never thought she would experience when her son Joe was diagnosed with an extremely rare metabolic disorder at the age of two. Doctors told her that her son, Joe, was suffering from Hartnup Syndrome - a condition which meant that, in his case, he would neither be able to speak nor understand speech. Five years later, however, the boy stunned his family and the medical world with a message that proved that he had secretly taught himself to read.

Keyword: Language; Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 1621 - Posted: 03.03.2002

MIKE JOHNSTON For nearly 40 years, one of the windows on life — the sense of hearing — has been closed tight to Nora Robbins. Robbins, who lives with her husband, Jerry, off Robinson Canyon Road, had her hearing tested as a young child and was found to be profoundly deaf. She relies on lip reading and powerful hearing aids to help her stay aware of her surroundings at work, at home and in the community. At 46, she said she hasn’t withdrawn from life, yet acknowledges the loss of hearing has taken from her some important aspects of life. ©2001 MyWebPal.com. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Hearing
Link ID: 1620 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Bruce Bower Mental-health workers have long theorized that it takes grueling emotional exertion to recover from the death of a loved one. So-called grief work, now the stock-in-trade of a growing number of grief counselors, entails confronting the reality of a loved one's demise and grappling with the harsh emotions triggered by that loss. Two new studies, however, knock grief work off its theoretical pedestal. Among bereaved spouses tracked for up to 2 years after their partners' death, those who often talked with others and briefly wrote in diaries about their emotions fared no better than their tight-lipped, unexpressive counterparts, according to psychologist Margaret Stroebe of Utrecht University in the Netherlands and her colleagues. In most cases, "the bereaved have to cope with their loss in their own time and their own way," the researchers conclude in the February Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology . "There was no evidence that talking about the loss with others and disclosing one's emotions facilitated [psychological] adjustment." From Science News, Vol. 161, No. 9, March 2, 2002, p. 131. Copyright ©2002 Science Service. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Emotions
Link ID: 1619 - Posted: 06.24.2010

CINCINNATI -- Could exposure to lead in early childhood be behind the rising levels of crime and other antisocial behaviors during the last half of the 20th century? The first comprehensive lead study to track children over a period of time found that both prenatal and postnatal exposure to lead were associated with antisocial behavior in children and adolescents. Researchers at the Children's Environmental Health Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, in collaboration with University of Cincinnati researchers, followed inner-city adolescents recruited prenatally into the study between 1979 and 1985. Mothers known to be addicted to drugs or alcohol, diabetic, or those with proven neurological disorders, psychoses or mental retardation were excluded from the study. ©1999-2002, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Keyword: Development of the Brain; Aggression
Link ID: 1618 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Not Getting Enough Could Increase Risk of Brain Deterioration By Jennifer Warner WebMD Medical News Folic acid may be especially good for more than just moms-to-be. New research suggests the vitamin could play an important role in protecting the brain against Alzheimer's disease and other brain-related disorders. The animal study, conducted by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), may improve understanding of the biochemical mechanisms behind Alzheimer's. The findings also shed light on earlier research that suggests people with high levels of homocysteine, an amino acid, in the blood have nearly twice the risk of developing Alzheimer's. Folic acid has been shown to lower homocysteine levels in the blood. Researchers fed one group of mice that had Alzheimer's-like plaques in their brains a diet that included a normal amount folic acid. It's found in leafy green vegetables, citrus fruits, whole wheat bread, and other grain products. The other group was fed a diet that was deficient in this vitamin. © 2002 WebMD Inc. All rights reserved. © 1996-2002 WebMD Corporation. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Alzheimers; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 1617 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Little did Delaine Inman realize when she was teaching classes to help patients deal with a chronic disease that she was preparing herself to deal with a rare brain disorder. A nurse for more than 30 years, Delaine's career was cut short because of the devastating condition. Delaine is one in 10,000 people who suffers from Benign Essential Blepharospasm (BEB) which causes forceful closure of the eyes and severe light sensitivity. Copyright Columbia Daily Herald. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Movement Disorders
Link ID: 1616 - Posted: 03.02.2002

By Rick Weiss Washington Post Staff Writer A once-promising experimental Alzheimer's vaccine that was reported last week to have triggered a dozen cases of brain inflammation in human volunteers has caused similar complications in an additional three people and has been permanently withdrawn from human testing. The vaccine, under development by the Irish pharmaceutical company Elan in conjunction with Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, a division of American Home Products Corp. of Madison, N.J., had raised unusually high hopes after it had halted and even reversed an Alzheimer's-like condition in mice. It had passed initial safety studies in Britain and was being tested in about 300 people in four European countries and 11 U.S. medical centers. Elan suspended inoculations in mid-January after four volunteers fell ill with what it called "clinical signs consistent with inflammation in the central nervous system." Ivan Lieberburg, Elan's chief scientific and medical officer, said yesterday that the 15 people who had experienced problems were all alive and that most of them were responding to treatment. He said it is still not clear why they developed the complications, which had characteristics of encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and meningitis (inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain). No such symptoms had been seen in the earlier animal or human studies. © 2002 The Washington Post Company

Keyword: Alzheimers
Link ID: 1615 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Two different routes find the mammalian enemies of apoptosis inhibitors By Laura DeFrancesco Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, provides organisms a way to remove unwanted cells, such as during morphogenesis, or to defend against viral infection. Of course, certain molecules exist to prohibit apoptosis. One of these proteins, aptly named Inhibitor of Apoptosis Protein (IAP), was first found in viruses, which use them to keep host cells alive while the virus replicates and propagates. These IAPs interfere with key effectors of apoptosis, the family of proteases known as caspases, which, when activated, literally digest the cell from the inside out. But the story doesn't end there: antagonists exist to antagonize the IAPs; these molecules send the cell back down the apoptosis pathway. For example, three IAP antagonists, Reaper, Grim and HID, have been identified in Drosophila. These proteins promote cell death by binding to the IAPs, keeping them from suppressing caspase activity. However, no similar IAP antagonists had been identified in mammals until the labs of David Vaux, Xiaodong Wang, and the editors of Cell crossed paths. C. Du et al., "Smac, a mitochondrial protein that promotes cytochrome c-dependent caspase activation by eliminating IAP inhibition," Cell, 102:33-42, July 7, 2000. The Scientist 16[5]:29, Mar. 4, 2002 © Copyright 2002, The Scientist, Inc. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Apoptosis; Drug Abuse
Link ID: 1614 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Sleep apnoea, in which breathing is disrupted during sleep, can have significant effects on mental as well as physical health, a study has suggested. Researchers from Quebec, Canada have, for the first time, examined how the condition affects psychological health. They say the disrupted sleep of sufferers can result in problems at work, in relationships and in social lives, which can lead to depression. It is estimated that up to a quarter of people suffer sleep apnoea, with their breathing stopping briefly at least five times an hour. (C) BBC

Keyword: Sleep; Depression
Link ID: 1613 - Posted: 03.01.2002

Scientists investigating the effect of the meditative state on Buddhist monk's brains have found that portions of the organ previously active become quiet, whilst pacified areas become stimulated. Andrew Newberg, a radiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, US, told BBC World Service's Discovery programme: "I think we are poised at a wonderful time in our history to be able to explore religion and spirituality in a way which was never thought possible." Using a brain imaging technique, Newberg and his team studied a group of Tibetan Buddhist monks as they meditated for approximately one hour. (C) BBC

Keyword: Brain imaging; Stress
Link ID: 1612 - Posted: 03.01.2002

Alzheimer's disease almost always afflicts people older than 60, but in people with Down syndrome, Alzheimer's often strikes before age 40. Now, a team of researchers reports that breakdowns in brain cells' energy-generating mitochondria contribute to the early onset of Alzheimer's in Down syndrome patients and may spur Alzheimer's in old age as well. Researchers suspect that people with Down syndrome are more susceptible to Alzheimer's disease because their extra copy of chromosome 21 causes them to build more of some proteins whose genes sit on that chromosome. One such gene codes for amyloid precursor protein (APP). A set of enzymes trims APP into another protein, called A?42, that is the main component of the senile plaques that characterize Alzheimer's disease. But there might be other links between the two diseases as well. For instance, Down syndrome patients have defective mitochondria, organelles that also lose efficiency as people age. Some studies have linked malfunctioning mitochondria to brain cells' inability to properly process APP, suggesting a connection to Alzheimer's. To test how mitochondrial defects might lead to signs of Alzheimer's disease, a team led by Jorge Busciglio of the University of Connecticut, Farmington, and Bruce Yankner of Harvard Medical School in Boston examined brain cells from aborted fetuses with Down syndrome. Compared with normal cells, the Down cells accumulated more A?42 and shuttled less APP out of the cell. The team found the same pattern when they poisoned the mitochondria of normal cells--evidence, they say, that defective mitochondria allow A?42 and APP to build up inside the Down cells. What's more, the secreted form of APP is known to protect neurons from various toxins, including A?42. Reporting their results in the 28 February issue of Neuron, the researchers argue that Alzheimer's disease can result from a deadly cycle in which an excess of APP impairs mitochondria, which causes cells to secrete less of the protective form of APP, making them vulnerable to damage from A?42 accumulation.

Keyword: Alzheimers; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 1611 - Posted: 03.01.2002

By Mark K. Anderson Until recently, prevailing scientific wisdom held that the human brain is closer to a game of hearts than one of gin rummy. As a young adult, your skull contains all the brain cells you'll ever have. No new cards are dealt, and from there on in, all that can be done is discard. Yet, since the late 1990s, a spate of scientific research has begun to establish that adults do generate new brain cells in some regions of the brain, well into old age. And now, for the first time, scientists have seen that new neurons become functional members of the brain, forging new connections and firing "action potentials" like any other neuron. © Copyright 2002, Lycos, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Keyword: Neurogenesis
Link ID: 1610 - Posted: 06.24.2010

The newly recognised condition of irritable male syndrome plays havoc with male animals, temporarily turning confident, chest-beating Tarzans into withdrawn, grumpy wimps. And there's some evidence that irritable male syndrome, which is triggered by a sudden drop in testosterone, affects men as well as animals, says Gerald Lincoln of the Medical Research Council's Human Reproductive Sciences Unit in Edinburgh, Scotland. The symptoms may resemble those of the so-called male menopause, but Lincoln believes the condition can affect men of any age when stress causes testosterone levels to plummet. If he's right, it's not just women who have their hormonal ups and downs. Lincoln first pinpointed the syndrome in Soay sheep. In the autumn, the rams' testosterone levels soar and they rut. In the winter, testosterone levels plummet and they lose interest in sex. High testosterone is supposed to mean more aggression. But the rams were more likely to injure themselves when testosterone was low. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Hormones & Behavior; Stress
Link ID: 1609 - Posted: 06.24.2010