Neuroscience

Blink if your brain needs a rest

Why do we spend roughly 10 percent of our waking hours with our eyes closed - blinking far more often than is actually necessary to keep our eyeballs lubricated? Scientists have pried open the answer to this mystery, finding ...

Medical research

MicroRNA derails protein that blocks insulin production

(Medical Xpress)—Work by Michigan Technological University biologist Xiaoqing Tang is yielding new insights into how a tiny snippet of genetic material can promote healthy insulin production in mice.

Medical research

Noncoding RNA may promote Alzheimer's disease

Researchers pinpoint a small RNA that spurs cells to manufacture a particular splice variant of a key neuronal protein, potentially promoting Alzheimer's disease (AD) or other types of neurodegeneration. The study appears ...