Scientists have discovered a novel survival factor whose rapid transport along nerve cells is crucial for keeping them alive. The same factor seems likely to be needed to keep our nerves healthy as we age.
The compound 7,8-dihydroxyflavone mimics BDNF, one of the brain’s own growth factors, and can protect brain cells against damage in animal models of seizure, stroke and Parkinson’s disease. 7,8-dihydroxyflavone is a member of a family of antioxidant…
Even Superman needed to retire to a phone booth for a quick change. But now scientists have succeeded in the ultimate switch: transforming mouse skin cells in a laboratory dish directly into functional nerve cells with the application of just three …
Leukemia cells, like most cancers, are addicted to glucose to generate their energy, but new research shows for the first time that these cells also rely on fatty acid metabolism to grow and to evade cell death.
An anti-inflammatory drug that keeps brain cells coming could be the key to treating some kinds of stress and depression
In high school biology you probably learned that every one of our body’s cells contains the same genome, or pattern of DNA–but it turns out that this is not true of the brain. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies recently …
Mature mouse tissue has been transformed directly into working brain cells, an advance that could lead to treatments for conditions such as Parkinson’s disease
Image 1: The red objects are former mouse embryonic fibroblasts to which three genes have been applied, prompting them to turn from skin cells into neurons. Credit: Tommy VierbuchenImage 2: This image shows neurons in culture growing on top of mouse em…
Contrary to prevailing wisdom, a new study from plant biologists at UC Davis shows that proteins of the Hsp70 family do indeed chaperone proteins across the membranes of chloroplasts, just as they do for other cellular structures.The findings are publi…
By determining the structure of DAPK bound to calmodulin, scientists in Germany have found a way to hack into a vital cellular communications system, raising the possibility of developing new drugs to tackle disorders like neurodegeneration, cancer …