Neuroscience

Scientists reveal structures of neurotransmitter transporter

Neurons talk to each other using chemical signals called neurotransmitters. Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have drawn on structural biology expertise to determine structures of vesicular monoamine transporter ...

Neuroscience

Study finds new role for protein in hearing

University of Iowa scientists have discovered a new role for a protein that is mutated in Usher syndrome, one of the most common forms of deaf-blindness in humans. The findings, which were published Aug. 8 in Nature Neuroscience, ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

The knowing nose: Chemosignals communicate human emotions

(Medical Xpress)—Many animal species transmit information via chemical signals, but the extent to which these chemosignals play a role in human communication is unclear. In a new study published in Psychological Science, ...

Genetics

Missed signals? A new way we vary from each other biologically

Genetics has made huge strides over the past 20 years, from the sequencing of the human genome to a growing understanding of factors that turn genes on and off, namely transcription factors and the DNA "enhancer" sequences ...

Neuroscience

Novel sensors enable precise measurement of dopamine

Dopamine is an important signaling molecule for nerve cells. Its concentration could not be precisely determined with both high spatial or temporal resolution until now. A new method has now made this possible: A research ...

Neuroscience

Researchers identify how cells control calcium influx

(Medical Xpress)—When brain cells are overwhelmed by an influx of too many calcium molecules, they shut down the channels through which these molecules enter the cells. Until now, the "stop" signal mechanism that cells ...

Neuroscience

Star-shaped glial cells act as the brain's 'motherboard'

The transistors and wires that power our electronic devices need to be mounted on a base material known as a "motherboard." Our human brain is not so different—neurons, the cells that transmit electrical and chemical signals, ...

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