Autism spectrum disorders

Finding the clues for better autism treatments

As a researcher at Harvard Medical School, Christopher W. Cowan, Ph.D., used to watch autistic kids come onto campus to attend a special school.

Genetics

Study links gene to sleep problems in autism

Up to 80 percent of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience sleep problems. The source of these problems has been as much of a mystery as the exact causes of ASD, which scientists are still working to unravel. ...

Neuroscience

Born to run: just not on cocaine

Cocaine is a highly addictive psychostimulant that induces complex molecular, cellular and behavioral responses. Despite various approaches and years of pre-clinical studies, effective, mechanism-based therapies to assist ...

Neuroscience

Characterizing a toxic offender

The brains of individuals with Alzheimer's disease contain protein aggregates called plaques and tangles, which interfere with normal communication between nerve cells and cause progressive learning and memory deficits. Now, ...

Medical research

Study ties aging to oxidative damage in mitochondria

As long as humans have been alive, they've been seeking ways to extend life just a little longer. So far no one has found the fountain of youth, but researchers have begun to understand how humans age, little by little, offering ...

Genetics

Cleft lip corrected genetically in mouse model

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College used genetic methods to successfully repair cleft lips in mice embryos specially engineered for the study of cleft lip and cleft palate. The research breakthrough may show the way ...

Neuroscience

Novel storage mechanism allows command, control of memory

(Medical Xpress)—Introductions at a party seemingly go in one ear and out the other. However, if you meet someone two or three times during the party, you are more likely to remember his or her name. Your brain has taken ...

Medical research

An 'unconventional' path to correcting cystic fibrosis

Researchers have identified an unconventional path that may correct the defect underlying cystic fibrosis, according to a report in the September 2nd issue of the journal Cell. This new treatment dramatically extends the ...

Neuroscience

Scientists find key signal that guides brain development

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have decoded an important molecular signal that guides the development of a key region of the brain known as the neocortex. The largest and most recently evolved region ...

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