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Mutations in Single Gene May Have Shaped Human Cerebral Cortex

By Guest PostApril 29, 2011Scienceatomic bomb, centrosomal nde1, evolution of the human brain, gene, genetic analysis, human brain, human cerebral cortex, mehmet bakircioglu, microcephaly, murat gunel, pakistani families, poetry, saliha yilmaz, saudi arabia, Shakespeare, turkey, turkish family

The size and shape of the human cerebral cortex, an evolutionary marvel responsible for everything from Shakespeare’s poetry to the atomic bomb, are largely influenced by mutations in a single gene, according to a team of researchers led by the Yale School of Medicine and three other universities.

The findings, reported April 28 in the American Journal of Human Genetics, are based on a genetic analysis of in one Turkish family and two Pakistani families with offspring born with the most severe form of microcephaly. The children have brains just 10 percent of normal size. They also lacked the normal cortical architecture that is a hallmark of the human brain. This combination of factors has not been seen in other genes associated with the development of the human brain, the authors note. (more…)

Evolution of Human ‘Super-Brain’ Tied To Development of Bipedalism, Tool-Making

By Guest PostApril 22, 2011Scienceafrica, ants, archaeological evidence, archaeologist, Arctic, bees, bipedalism, don river, Europe, evolution of human mind, fossil, france, Germany, honeybees, human ancestors, human brain, human mind, john hoffecker, kostenk, lucy, modern mind, moscow, russia, social insects, stone tools, super brain, university of colorado boulder, waggle dance

Scientists seeking to understand the origin of the human mind may want to look to honeybees — not ancestral apes — for at least some of the answers, according to a University of Colorado Boulder archaeologist.

CU-Boulder Research Associate John Hoffecker said there is abundant fossil and archaeological evidence for the evolution of the human mind, including its unique power to create a potentially infinite variety of thoughts expressed in the form of sentences, art and technologies. He attributes the evolving power of the mind to the formation of what he calls the “super-brain,” or collective mind, an event that took place in Africa no later than 75,000 years ago. (more…)

A Second Pathway for Antidepressants: Berkeley Lab Reports New Fluorescent Assay Reveals TREK1 Mechanism

By Guest PostFebruary 25, 2011Scienceantidepressant drugs, berkeley lab, c terminal, cell based fluorescent assay, cytoplasm, ehud isacoff, flow of electrical current, fluorescent protein, fluoxetine, gfp, green fluorescent protein, guillaume sandoz, high speed transistors, human brain, ion channels, membrane, molecular gates, neurons, pharmacological agents, plasma membrane, protein, prozac, sarah bell, transmembrane proteins, trek1, trek1 potassium channel

Using a unique and relatively simple cell-based fluorescent assay they developed, scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC), Berkeley have identified a means by which fluoxetine, the active ingredient in Prozac, suppresses the activity of the TREK1 potassium channel. TREK1 activity has been implicated in mood regulation and could be an important target for fluoxetine and other antidepressant drugs. (more…)

Tag Archives: human brain

Mutations in Single Gene May Have Shaped Human Cerebral Cortex

Evolution of Human ‘Super-Brain’ Tied To Development of Bipedalism, Tool-Making

A Second Pathway for Antidepressants: Berkeley Lab Reports New Fluorescent Assay Reveals TREK1 Mechanism