Mostly, people think that an embryo can only (except in the case of parthenogenesis) result from the sum of sperm and an egg. However, two research teams, one in Israel and another multinational collaboration have recently reported producing a synthetic mouse embryo from stem cells which lasted enough to have a brain and a beating […]
Long disregarded as a party drug, loved by hippies and alternative thinkers, LSD has been recently demonstrated to be much more than that, being useful as an anti-depressive and in therapy against PTSD and other traumas. Now, another “power” of LSD has been uncovered: it potentiates brain plasticity, thereby improving memory and other cognitive processes […]
How to breed more intelligent humans? This is a difficult question, one which raises numerous issues, both ethical and scientific. Would you give your eyesight away to become brighter? As crazy as this question may sound, a blinding mutation might increase intelligence. The CORD7 (cone-rod dystrophy 7) mutation of the RIMS1 gene produces progressive blindness […]
Intermittent fasting is more than the latest diet fad, it has proven benefits –at least in animal models– against longevity, and it appears that it could even improve nerve regeneration, according to new research. The problems with axons in the peripheral nervous system is that their regenerative capacity is not very high. There are certain […]
A common saying refers to the power of the eyes as a window inside our souls; interestingly, our eyes could also be a window into our brains, helping identify certain neurological conditions like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Recent work published in Frontiers in Neuroscience found distinct electrical recording signatures […]
In the last years, CRISPR-Cas9 technology has revolutionized gene editing, having enormous research and clinical potential. However, gene editing can be tricky and have unexpected effects, like recently reported in the journal PNAS , where tweaking a gene produced aggressive hamsters instead of the calm, Zen animals the researchers were aiming for. Arginine-vasopressin (AVP) and […]
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating autoimmune condition whereby neurons lose their myelin sheath leading to impaired neural transmission, neural degeneration and motor symptoms. Multiple factors have been considered to influence its development, like vitamin D, but now, a couple of studies have shown that the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is linked to multiple sclerosis. You […]
If you follow anything related to genetics, you’re probably thinking that it is old news, as the first draft was already published in 2000, but actually there were still missing parts. Now, thanks to new sequencing technologies, the human genome is completely sequenced. In the journal Science , six papers published back-to-back explain how this […]
One of the biggest difficulties of bringing new therapeutic methods into clinical practice is targeted delivery. A recent study shows the potential of using a gel for topical gene therapy. Recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa is a genetic disease that affects proper skin formation. The affected people have an extremely fragile skin, which often suffers from […]
Brain cells communicate through neurotransmitters like glutamate or dopamine, the substances we got used to reading about when learning about brain function. However, it seems this is not the only way neurons can communicate. A new study suggests that certain proteins can act as brain messengers in the brain. Previously, only pathological proteins like tau […]