Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Gauging seizures' severity

In this week's issue of the journal Neurology, researchers at MIT and two Boston hospitals provide early evidence that a simple, unobtrusive wrist sensor could gauge the severity of epileptic seizures as acc ...

Neuroscience created Apr 26, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Target set on cancer gene MCL1

A research team pursuing one of the most commonly altered genes in cancer has laid a critical foundation for understanding this gene that could point the way toward developing drugs against it. A recent study of cancer genetics ...

Cancer created Apr 16, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers show that memories reside in specific brain cells

Our fond or fearful memories — that first kiss or a bump in the night — leave memory traces that we may conjure up in the remembrance of things past, complete with time, place and all the sensations ...

Neuroscience created Mar 23, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (16) | comments 13 | with audio podcast

New tools to answer timeless questions

After finishing his PhD in molecular biophysics, Alan Jasanoff decided to veer away from that field and try looking into some of the biggest questions in neuroscience: How do we perceive things? What happens ...

Neuroscience created Mar 16, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (3) | comments 0

When it comes to intergroup conflict, the group with less power benefits more from sharing its perspective

To help promote peace in the Middle East, many organizations have established "peace camps" or similar conflict-resolution programs that bring Israelis and Palestinians together to foster greater understanding ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Mar 15, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New technology measures blood flow to monitor sickle cell disease

More than 60 years ago, scientists discovered the underlying cause of sickle cell disease: People with the disorder produce crescent-shaped red blood cells that clog capillaries instead of flowing smoothly, like ordinary, ...

Medical research created Feb 29, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Delivering RNA with tiny sponge-like spheres

For the past decade, scientists have been pursuing cancer treatments based on RNA interference — a phenomenon that offers a way to shut off malfunctioning genes with short snippets of RNA. However, one huge cha ...

Medical research created Feb 27, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Successful human tests for first wirelessly controlled drug-delivery chip

About 15 years ago, MIT professors Robert Langer and Michael Cima had the idea to develop a programmable, wirelessly controlled microchip that would deliver drugs after implantation in a patient's body. This ...

Medical research created Feb 16, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Neuroscientists link brain-wave pattern to energy consumption

Different brain states produce different waves of electrical activity, with the alert brain, relaxed brain and sleeping brain producing easily distinguishable electroencephalogram (EEG) patterns. These patterns ...

Neuroscience created Feb 08, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

My connectome, myself

The human brain has 100 billion neurons, each of which is connected to many others. Neuroscientists believe these connections hold the key to our memories, personality and even mental disorders such as schizophrenia. ...

Neuroscience created Feb 07, 2012 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (2) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Stem cells could drive hepatitis research forward

Hepatitis C, an infectious disease that can cause inflammation and organ failure, has different effects on different people. But no one is sure why some people are very susceptible to the infection, while ...

Medical research created Feb 01, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Neuroscientists explore how longstanding conflict influences empathy for others

MIT postdoc Emile Bruneau has long been drawn to conflict — not as a participant, but an observer. In 1994, while doing volunteer work in South Africa, he witnessed firsthand the turmoil surrounding ...

Neuroscience created Jan 23, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Seeing what's inside a tumor

Gliomas, the most common types of brain tumor, are also among the deadliest cancers: Their mortality rate is nearly 100 percent, in part because there are very few treatments available. 

Medical research created Jan 12, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

How does our brain know what is a face and what's not?

Objects that resemble faces are everywhere. Whether it’s New Hampshire’s erstwhile granite “Old Man of the Mountain,” or Jesus’ face on a tortilla, our brains are adept at locating ...

Neuroscience created Jan 09, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Patterns of connections reveal brain functions

For more than a decade, neuroscientists have known that many of the cells in a brain region called the fusiform gyrus specialize in recognizing faces. However, those cells don’t act alone: They need to ...

Neuroscience created Jan 03, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (7) | comments 2 | with audio podcast