American Institute of Physics

Wired for avalanches -- and learning

The brain's neurons are coupled together into vast and complex networks called circuits. Yet despite their complexity, these circuits are capable of displaying striking examples of collective behavior such as the phenomenon ...

May 02, 2012
popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Autism speaks through gene expression

Autism spectrum disorders affect nearly 1 in 88 children, with symptoms ranging from mild personality traits to severe intellectual disability and seizures. Understanding the altered genetic pathways is critical for diagnosis ...

Feb 01, 2013
popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Propping open the door to the blood brain barrier

The treatment of central nervous system (CNS) diseases can be particularly challenging because many of the therapeutic agents such as recombinant proteins and gene medicines are not easily transported across the blood-brain ...

Feb 01, 2013
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Modeling metastasis

Cancer metastasis, the escape and spread of primary tumor cells, is a common cause of cancer-related deaths. But metastasis remains poorly understood. Studies indicate that when a primary tumor breaks through ...

Aug 24, 2012
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Tiny channel cleanses blood

Margination, the natural phenomenon where bacteria and leukocytes (white blood cells) move toward the sides of blood vessels, is the inspiration for a novel method for treating sepsis, a systemic and often dangerous inflammatory ...

May 02, 2012
popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0