PLoS Computational Biology

Brain's connective cells are much more than glue; they also regulate learning and memory

Glia cells, named for the Greek word for "glue," hold the brain's neurons together and protect the cells that determine our thoughts and behaviors, but scientists have long puzzled over their prominence in ...

Medical research created Dec 29, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (13) | comments 8 | with audio podcast

Cracking brain memory code

(Medical Xpress) -- Despite a century of research, memory encoding in the brain has remained mysterious. Neuronal synaptic connection strengths are involved, but synaptic components are short-lived while memories last lifetimes. ...

Neuroscience created Mar 09, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (10) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Branching out: A mathematical law of dendritic connectivity

(Medical Xpress) -- That the brain is evolution at its finest is perhaps best demonstrated by the beauty, complexity and diversity of dendrites – tree-like structures that form neural circuits by connecting ...

Neuroscience created Jun 28, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (10) | comments 7 | with audio podcast feature

Stress breaks loops that hold short-term memory together: study

Stress has long been pegged as the enemy of attention, disrupting focus and doing substantial damage to working memory—the short-term juggling of information that allows us to do all the little things that make us productive.

Neuroscience created Sep 13, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (8) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

The brain's circuit diagram: New method facilitates the mapping of connections between neurons

(Medical Xpress)—The human brain accomplishes its remarkable feats through the interplay of an unimaginable number of neurons that are interconnected in complex networks. A team of scientists has now developed ...

Neuroscience created Oct 18, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (8) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Hallmarks of psychiatric illness can reveal themselves remotely

Researchers discovered that healthy people and those with borderline personality disorder displayed different patterns of behavior while playing an online strategy game, so much so that when healthy players ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Apr 09, 2013 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (7) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New research may have discovered how memories are encoded in our brains

University of Alberta led research may have discovered how memories are encoded in our brains.

Neuroscience created Mar 19, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Sloppy shipping of human retina leads researchers to discover new treatment path for eye disease

Sloppy shipping of a donated human retina to an Indiana University researcher studying a leading cause of vision loss has inadvertently helped uncover a previously undetected mechanism causing the disease. ...

Ophthalmology created May 04, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Cell senescence does not stop tumor growth

Since cancer cells grow indefinitely, it is commonly believed that senescence could act as a barrier against tumor growth and potentially be used as a way to treat cancer. A collaboration between a cancer biologist from the ...

Cancer created Jan 19, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Is too much brain activity connected to Alzheimer's disease?

High baseline levels of neuronal activity in the best connected parts of the brain may play an important role in the development of Alzheimer's disease. This is the main conclusion of a new study appearing in PLoS Computational Bi ...

Alzheimer's disease & dementia created Aug 16, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Both innate and adaptive immune responses are critical to the control of influenza

Both innate and adaptive immune responses play an important role in controlling influenza virus infection, according to a study, published in the Open Access journal PLoS Computational Biology, by researchers from Oaklan ...

Medical research created Jun 28, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Mathematical model describes the collaboration of individual neurons

How do neurons in the brain communicate with each other? One common theory suggests that individual cells do not exchange signals among each other, but rather that exchange takes place between groups of cells. Researchers ...

Neuroscience created Mar 08, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Google goes cancer: Researchers use search engine algorithm to find cancer biomarkers

The strategy used by Google to decide which pages are relevant for a search query can also be used to determine which proteins in a patient's cancer are relevant for the disease progression. Researchers from Dresden University ...

Cancer created May 17, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers find that pre-existing mutations can lead to drug resistance in HIV virus

In a critical step that may lead to more effective HIV treatments, Harvard scientists have found that, in a small number of HIV patients, pre-existing mutations in the virus can cause it to develop resistance to the drugs ...

HIV & AIDS created Jun 07, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Computer model enables better understanding of what happens during and after stroke

(Medical Xpress)—At the moment that someone is suffering a stroke, the immediate concern is getting them stabilized. Once the initial attack has passed, additional treatment and preventive measures can ...

Medical research created Nov 27, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast