nervous system – Page 2 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

A Whole New Meaning for Thinking on Your Feet

By Guest PostJanuary 9, 2012Natureaxons, biodiversity of spiders, body cavities, brain, brain cells, brain power, brain size and behavior, central nervous systems, costa rica, diameter, energy, genes, genus, hallers rule, human brains, miniaturization, mysmena, nephila clavipes, nerve fibers, nerve signals, nervous system, nucleus, nymphs of spiders, panama, rainforest, rainforest giant, smallest spiders, smithsonian researchers, smithsonian tropical research institute, species of spiders, tiny spiders, tropical ecosystems, tropics, understanding of tropical nature, william wcislo

Smithsonian researchers report that the brains of tiny spiders are so large that they fill their body cavities and overflow into their legs. As part of ongoing research to understand how miniaturization affects brain size and behavior, researchers measured the central nervous systems of nine species of spiders, from rainforest giants to spiders smaller than the head of a pin. As the spiders get smaller, their brains get proportionally bigger, filling up more and more of their body cavities.

“The smaller the animal, the more it has to invest in its brain, which means even very tiny spiders are able to weave a web and perform other fairly complex behaviors,” said William Wcislo, staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. “We discovered that the central nervous systems of the smallest spiders fill up almost 80 percent of their total body cavity, including about 25 percent of their legs.” (more…)

Altered Gene Tracks RNA Editing in Neurons

By Guest PostDecember 26, 2011Scienceadar, brown university, disease, DNA, engineered gene, epilepsy, errors, fluorescent readout, fruit flies, gene expression, glowing green indicator, jellyfish gene, key enzyme, key step, kyle jay, living organisms, mental retardation, molecular biology, molecular reporter, moth, nervous system, radar, rna, rna repair, robert reenan, rube goldberg, schizophrenia, stop codon, suicidal depression, t a g, t g g, ultraviolet light, yannis a savva

*RNA editing is a key step in gene expression. Scientists at Brown University report in Nature Methods that they have engineered a gene capable of visually displaying the activity of the key enzyme ADAR in living fruit flies.*

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — To track what they can’t see, pilots look to the green glow of the radar screen. Now biologists monitoring gene expression, individual variation, and disease have a glowing green indicator of their own: Brown University biologists have developed a “radar” for tracking ADAR, a crucial enzyme for editing RNA in the nervous system.

The advance gives scientists a way to view when and where ADAR is active in a living animal and how much of it is operating. In experiments in fruit flies described in the journal Nature Methods, the researchers show surprising degrees of individual variation in ADAR’s RNA editing activity in the learning and memory centers of the brains of individual flies. (more…)

Watching the Nervous System Being Wired in Real Time

By Guest PostDecember 2, 2011Sciencebill hathaway, daniel colon ramos, imaging technology, living organism, migration of cells, nervous system, neurodevelopmental atlas, new diseases, single cell, worm, yale, yale cell biologist, yale university

Thanks to a new imaging technology developed at Yale, the National Institutes of Health and Sloan-Kettering, scientists can now see for the first time the development of a living organism at the level of a single cell.

One of the developers, Yale cell biologist Daniel Colon-Ramos, illustrates the power of the new technology in this video that shows the migration of cells that will form the nervous system in a developing worm. (more…)

“PARKINSONIAN” Worms May Hold The Key to Identifying Drugs for Parkinson’s Disease, Says Scientist

By Guest PostNovember 13, 2011Health, Scienceadela ben yakar, alzheimers, andres vidal gadea, c elegans worms, degenerative disorder of the central nervous system, dopamine deficient worms, dopaminergic systems, early dementia, early symptoms, genetic structure, humans, jon pierce shimomura, layla young, nervous system, neurobiology, neurodegenerative diseases, parkinsonian, parkinsons disease, potential drugs, potential therapeutic, professor, simple test, stephen topper, terrible time, university of texas at austin, worm model

AUSTIN, Texas — Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have devised a simple test, using dopamine-deficient worms, for identifying drugs that may help people with Parkinson’s disease.

The worms are able to evaluate as many as 1,000 potential drugs a year. The researchers have received federal funding that could increase that to one million drug tests a year. (more…)

If It’s Summer, It’s Also Scorpion Season

By Guest PostJuly 11, 2011Healtharizona poison and drug information center, aspirin, keith boesen, maricopa, mazda shirazi, natural defenses, natural fluorescence, nervous system, painkiller, poison specialists, scorpion, scorpion antivenom, scorpion species, scorpion stings, scorpion venom, sting season, summer in southern arizona, symptoms, the university of arizona, tylenol, ultraviolet light

When stung by a scorpion, call 1-800-222-1222 and tell UA poison specialists about your symptoms.

Summer in Southern Arizona brings out the shiny auto sunshades, the supersized water bottles – and the scorpions.

The Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center, located at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy in Tucson, reminds citizens of the desert that venomous scorpions share our habitat, and that sometimes we come closer to one another than we want. Since Jan. 1, the poison center has recorded more than 1,000 scorpion stings in its service area, which includes all counties in the state except Maricopa. (more…)

Does Social Anxiety Disorder Respond to Psychotherapy? Brain Study Says Yes

By Guest PostFebruary 14, 2011Culture, Healthbrain, brain electrical interactions, capital punishment, delta beta coupling, diane santesso, disorder, eegs, electroencephalograms, emotion, hamilton, louis schmidt, martin antony, medication, nervous system, neurological effects, ontario, ontario mental health foundation, physiologic change, psychotherapy, randi mccabe, real-time, rene sommer, same-sex marriage, social anxiety, vladimir miskovic

When psychotherapy is helping someone get better, what does that change look like in the brain? This was the question a team of Canadian psychological scientists set out to investigate in patients suffering from social anxiety disorder. Their findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association of Psychological Science.

Social anxiety is a common disorder, marked by overwhelming fears of interacting with others and expectations of being harshly judged. Medication and psychotherapy both help people with the disorder. But research on the neurological effects of psychotherapy has lagged far behind that on medication-induced changes in the brain. (more…)

Energy Drinks: To Drink or Not to Drink?

By PravdaJanuary 19, 2011Culture, Healthalcohol, asia, blood, caffeine, carbohydrates, carbonated, coffee, denmark, depression, dietrich matesic, diuretic effect, energy drinks, france, glucose, glucuronolactone, heart diseases, high blood pressure, high sugar levels, hong kong, hypertension, hypertensive crisis, increased anxiety, ingredients, mental activity, miracle drink, nervous breakdown, nervous system, norway, overdoses, oxidative processes, psychomotor agitation, red bull, stimulant, stimulate, tachycardia, taurine, tea, vitamins, vodka, workaholics

Energy drinks are a recent invention of mankind, even though their ingredients have long been used to stimulate the nervous system. They have become the salvation for students during the exams and office workers that have to meet the deadlines. Yet, are these products as good as they seem? (more…)

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