http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. More than a year after developing a unique neurological disorder, the affected pork processing plant workers have improved, but all have some continuing symptoms and many have ongoing mild pain, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 61st Annual Meeting in Seattle, April 25 to May 2, 2009. http://www.physorg.com/news154721268.html Medicine & Health Tue, 24 Feb 2009 18:08:32 EST news154721268 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Aberdeen have unlocked the details of a communication process that helps to generate the brainwaves that allow us to think and learn. http://www.physorg.com/news154621190.html Medicine & Health Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:20:22 EST news154621190 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have found a way of activating the neuronal reserves in the brains of mice by switching off the signal that inhibits the formation of new nerve cells. The study is presented in the online edition of the scientific journal Nature Neuroscience. http://www.physorg.com/news154620279.html Medicine & Health Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:05:05 EST news154620279 The phenomenon of light emission by living organisms, bioluminescence, is quite common, especially in marine species. It is known that light is generated by chemical reactions in which oxygen molecules play an important part. In the animal world, these chemical reactions take place in special luminescent cells called photocytes. These are aggregated into complex light organs, in which the intensity of light is regulated by nerve impulses, and in which light can be modulated with the help of reflectors, lenses and filters. By these means, organisms can adjust the wavelength, diffusion and intensity of light according to need. But the exact mechanisms behind these processes remain shrouded in mystery. http://www.physorg.com/news154618501.html Biology Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:35:34 EST news154618501 (PhysOrg.com) -- Understanding the mechanisms by which the brain functions is one of the most complex challenges in science. One important aspect is the electrical conduction of stimuli in nerve cells. In order to study neuronal circuits, a sharp metal electrode is usually inserted into the brain to introduce a current. However, the response does not reflect the highly complex activation patterns of natural nerve stimuli. http://www.physorg.com/news154343296.html Chemistry Fri, 20 Feb 2009 09:09:06 EST news154343296 (PhysOrg.com) -- A study from the Buck Institute for Age Research offers a revolutionary new model for Alzheimer`s disease (AD), a devastating neurodegenerative disorder which afflicts 24 million people worldwide. In an effort to unravel the normal function of a protein implicated in AD, scientists in California and France have discovered a naturally occurring protein that provides a new therapeutic target for the disease. http://www.physorg.com/news154285265.html Medicine & Health Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:01:53 EST news154285265 (PhysOrg.com) -- Which modules of the tau protein, in neurons of Alzheimer disease patients, may act in a destructive manner were investigated by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (Göttingen) and the Max Planck Unit for Structural Molecular Biology (Hamburg) with the help of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy. http://www.physorg.com/news154107548.html Biology Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:39:42 EST news154107548 (PhysOrg.com) -- In comparison to many other living creatures, flies tend to be small and their brains, despite their complexity, are quite manageable. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried have now ascertained that these insects can make up for their low number of nerve cells by means of sophisticated network interactions. http://www.physorg.com/news154100854.html Biology Tue, 17 Feb 2009 13:48:05 EST news154100854 Using injections of a small derivate of the protein insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), scientists at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory have successfully treated a mouse model of the devastating neurological disorder Rett syndrome. http://www.physorg.com/news153423648.html Medicine & Health Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:41:36 EST news153423648 Researchers have found evidence that a direct interaction between vitamin D and a common genetic variant alters the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS). The research, published on 6 February in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics, suggests that vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy and the early years may increase the risk of the offspring developing MS later in life. http://www.physorg.com/news153064682.html Medicine & Health Thu, 05 Feb 2009 14:00:24 EST news153064682 (PhysOrg.com) -- An international team of scientists led by the University of Leeds has shed new light on the little-understood motor protein called dynein, thought to be involved in progressive neurological disorders such as motor neurone disease. http://www.physorg.com/news153059833.html Biology Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:37:49 EST news153059833 (PhysOrg.com) -- A common treatment for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, prescribed millions of times a year, may change the brain in the same ways that cocaine does, a new study in mice suggests. Research from Rockefeller University shows that methylphenidate, commonly known as Ritalin, causes physical changes in neurons in reward regions of mouse brains. In some cases, the effects overlapped with those of cocaine. http://www.physorg.com/news152979707.html Medicine & Health Wed, 04 Feb 2009 14:22:33 EST news152979707 Transplanting cells that replenish blood vessels can also restore nerve function in an animal model of diabetic neuropathy, Emory researchers have found. The results are described online this week in the journal Circulation. http://www.physorg.com/news152977005.html Medicine & Health Wed, 04 Feb 2009 13:37:29 EST news152977005 (PhysOrg.com) -- A delay in traffic may cause a headache, but a delay in the nervous system can cause much more. University of Missouri researchers have uncovered clues identifying which proteins are involved in the development of the nervous system and found that the proteins previously thought to play a significant role, in fact, do not. Understanding how the nervous system develops will give researchers a better understanding of neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disorders. http://www.physorg.com/news152897556.html Medicine & Health Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:33:11 EST news152897556 Anyone with a sweet tooth knows that too much of a good thing can lead to negative consequences. The same can be said about the signals that help maintain nerve cells, as demonstrated in a new study of myelin, a protein key to efficient neuronal transmission. http://www.physorg.com/news152773248.html Biology Mon, 02 Feb 2009 05:01:21 EST news152773248 People with Parkinson's disease commonly suffer a slowing or freezing of movement caused by the death of neurons that make dopamine, a key chemical that allows brain cells to send and receive messages essential to voluntary movements. Patients regain the ability to move, seemingly miraculously, by taking L-DOPA or related drugs that mimic the missing dopamine. After a few years on L-DOPA, however, most patients again lose motor control - but in an opposite way. Instead of too little, there is too much movement, like involuntary nodding and rocking - side effects known as L-DOPA-induced dyskinesias. http://www.physorg.com/news152463203.html Medicine & Health Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:53:50 EST news152463203 High levels of certain proteins in the spinal fluid could signal the onset of Lou Gehrig's disease, according to researchers. The discovery of these biomarkers may lead to diagnostic kits for early diagnosis, accurately measuring the progression of the disease and monitoring the effects of treatment. http://www.physorg.com/news152370759.html Medicine & Health Wed, 28 Jan 2009 13:13:00 EST news152370759 Scientists have already hooked brains directly to computers by means of metal electrodes, in the hope of both measuring what goes on inside the brain and eventually healing conditions such as blindness or epilepsy. In the future, the interface between brain and artificial system might be based on nerve cells grown for that purpose. In research that was recently featured on the cover of Nature Physics, Prof. Elisha Moses of the Physics of Complex Systems Department and his former research students Drs. Ofer Feinerman and Assaf Rotem have taken the first step in this direction by creating circuits and logic gates made of live nerves grown in the lab. http://www.physorg.com/news152364147.html Physics Wed, 28 Jan 2009 11:22:49 EST news152364147 Individual nerve cells in the front part of the brain can hold traces of memories on their own for as long as a minute and possibly longer, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found. http://www.physorg.com/news152114323.html Medicine & Health Sun, 25 Jan 2009 14:00:24 EST news152114323 University of Utah scientists identified a worm gene that is essential for damaged nerve cells to regenerate, and showed they could speed nerve regeneration by over-activating the gene - a step toward new treatments for nerves injured by trauma or disease. http://www.physorg.com/news151589222.html Medicine & Health Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:00:06 EST news151589222 By tweaking a system in the ear that limits how much sound is heard, a global team of researchers has discovered one alteration that shows that the ability of the ear to turn itself down contributes to protecting against permanent hearing loss. The report appears this week in PLoS Biology. http://www.physorg.com/news151737561.html Biology Wed, 21 Jan 2009 05:20:01 EST news151737561 Studies at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine on brain electrical signaling offer a fresh perspective on vertebrate evolution, provide additional evidence supporting Darwinian views of evolution, and may also lead to more effective treatment of epileptic seizures in infants. Researchers discovered how evolutionary changes produced a series of improvements in molecules generating electrical signals in nerves between 550 and 400 million years ago. By making nervous systems faster and smarter, these innovations appear to have contributed to the evolutionary success and diversity of vertebrate animals. http://www.physorg.com/news151687890.html Medicine & Health Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:32:26 EST news151687890 A tug-of-war between the two sides of the brain causes it to become asymmetrical, according to research published today in the journal Neuron. Asymmetry in the brain is thought to be important to enable the two hemispheres to specialise and operate more efficiently. http://www.physorg.com/news151159139.html Medicine & Health Wed, 14 Jan 2009 12:38:59 EST news151159139 (PhysOrg.com) -- Electrical engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas have demonstrated that magnetic nanotubes combined with nerve growth factor can enable specific cells to differentiate into neurons. The results from in vitro studies show that magnetic nanotubes may be exploited to treat neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson`s disease and Alzheimer`s disease because they can be used as a delivery vehicle for nerve growth factor. http://www.physorg.com/news151077655.html Nanotechnology Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:00:55 EST news151077655 A new area of the cerebral cortex has evolved to enable man and higher primates to pick up small objects and deftly use tools, according to neuroscientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Pittsburgh's Veterans Affairs Medical Center. http://www.physorg.com/news151002730.html Medicine & Health Mon, 12 Jan 2009 17:12:10 EST news151002730 Patients who develop multiple sclerosis before age 18 appear to experience more relapses of symptoms than those diagnosed with the disease as adults, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Neurology. http://www.physorg.com/news151001543.html Medicine & Health Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:52:23 EST news151001543 (PhysOrg.com) -- Bed bugs, once nearly eradicated in the built environment, have made a big comeback recently, especially in urban centers such as New York City. In the first study to explain the failure to control certain bed bug populations, toxicologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Korea`s Seoul National University show that some of these nocturnal blood suckers have developed resistance to pyrethroid insecticides, in particular deltamethrin, that attack their nervous systems. http://www.physorg.com/news150651765.html Biology Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:42:45 EST news150651765 Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University's School of Dentistry have discovered a novel function of the peptide known as Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) in the development of the trigeminal nerve. The trigeminal nerve provides the signaling pathway for periodontal pain, dental surgical pain, and pain associated with temporomandibular disorder, trigeminal neuralgia, migraine, and other neuropathic and inflammatory conditions. http://www.physorg.com/news150644959.html Medicine & Health Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:49:19 EST news150644959 (PhysOrg.com) -- In 1913 Theodore Roosevelt added cartographer to his resume when he and his crew ventured up an unspeakably dangerous and uncharted tributary named the River of Doubt. Now, on a charting expedition of their own, Rockefeller University scientists have completed a journey that has also defied expectation. In work to be published in the January 9 issue of Cell, the team reports the discovery of a new family of receptors in the fly nose, a finding that not only fills in a missing piece in the organizational logic of the insect olfactory system but also unearths one of the most ancient mechanisms that organisms have evolved to smell. http://www.physorg.com/news150640317.html Biology Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:31:57 EST news150640317 Women with bulimia nervosa appear to respond more impulsively during psychological testing than those without eating disorders, and brain scans show differences in areas responsible for regulating behavior, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. http://www.physorg.com/news150397130.html Medicine & Health Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:58:50 EST news150397130