How Sleep Clears the Brain A mouse study suggests that sleep helps restore the brain by flushing out toxins that build up during waking hours. The results point to a potential new role for sleep in health and disease. Scientists and philosophers have long wondered why people sleep and how it affects the brain. Sleep […]

NIH Scientists Identify a New Immunodeficiency Disease Condition May be Treatable with Anti-Rejection Drug Scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health have identified a novel, genetic human immunodeficiency called PASLI disease. People with this disease have impaired immune responses, […]

More Guidance For Hormone Replacement Therapy Hormone therapy may be a reasonable option for younger women to manage menopausal symptoms for a limited period of time, according to a new analysis. However, the therapy isn’t recommended for chronic disease prevention. The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) was established to study several aspects of women’s health, including […]

Scientists Recode Organism’s Genome Researchers developed a method to engineer a bacterium’s genome to create new genetic codes. The technique has the potential to turn microbes into efficient living factories that can make novel compounds. The emerging field of synthetic biology seeks to redesign natural biological systems for new purposes. Living microbes have efficient mechanisms […]

Single mutation gives virus new target Single switch/ The binding sites on the surface of the of the BK polyomavirus, called capsomers, each have five monomers. Scientists found that changing just one amino acid in these monomers caused the virus to bind to an entirely different receptor on targeted cells than before. Credit: Atwood lab/Brown University In a new study […]

Brown-led study highlights liver function Rapamycin is an FDA-approved anti-cancer agent and immunosuppressant. Some research suggests it can even combat aging. But rapamycin also targets and inhibits the workings of two related molecular complexes in the liver, with potentially important effects on metabolism. In a study published online recently in The FASEB Journal, a team […]

Algorithm aids in cancer research A computer algorithm developed by Brown computer scientists is helping to unlock the genetic drivers behind a variety of cancers. Research reported in the journal Nature identified a suite of mutations common in 12 types of cancer, including cancers of the breast, uterus, lung, colon, brain, and kidney. The research […]

Rats! Humans and rodents face their errors Evidence of error/ Low-frequency brainwaves in the human medial frontal cortex change from low-power (blue) to high-power (red-orange) at the recognition of a mistake. What happens when the brain recognizes an error? A new study shows that the brains of humans and rats adapt in a similar way to […]

BrainGate team wins $1M prize in Israel The team that created the investigational BrainGate brain-computer interface has won a major international award, the $1-million Moshe Mirilashvili Memorial Fund B.R.A.I.N. Prize, at a brain science technology conference in Israel Oct. 15, 2013. For the betterment of humanity/Arto Nurmikko, left, and John Donoghue receive the B.R.A.I.N. Prize […]

More meals for seniors could save $ Doing better by doing good/Kali Thomas, researcher and Meals on Wheels volunteer, is beginning a randomized study to quantify the quality of life impact of expanding meal programs for seniors — an ironic research opportunity made possible by the federal sequester./Credit: Mike Cohea/Brown University Home-delivered meals bring not only food to […]