Articles tagged Neuroscience
(26 results)

AP-2 transcription factors, which control sleep in flies and worms, are confirmed to do the same in mammals.

NUN bodies in C. elegans offer clues about nervous system differentiation. One of the most active areas of research today explores the differences between individual cell types and how cells become differentiated. This specialization of cell types relies on changes in gene expression, but how those changes are orchestrated remains unknown. Now, research published in…

New Faculty Profiles allow GSA members who are establishing their first labs to introduce themselves to our wider community. If you’d like to submit your profile, please complete this form. Aakanksha Singhvi Assistant Member Division of Basic Sciences Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Lab website Briefly describe the ongoing and expected research projects as your lab gets up…

Apoptotic pathway promotes asymmetric cell division during C. elegans development. Cell division doesn’t always produce identical daughter cells; often, the demands of multicellular development require cells to split into two quite different daughters with quite different fates. These “asymmetric” divisions are needed so that cells can differentiate and specialize, and some cells are even programmed…

Mitochondria cell-autonomously regulate the secretion of neuropeptides in C. elegans. Neurons are hard-working cells that need a lot of energy to do their jobs, so it’s no surprise that they are highly dependent on their mitochondria to function properly. Yet these organelles do much more for cells than simply produce energy. In GENETICS, Zhao et…

Food-deprivation inhibits the stress-induced sleep response in C. elegans. For many animals, the essential physiological drives of sleep and food are intimately linked. You might have noticed this if you’ve ever stayed up far too late and found yourself craving a snack. Yet because it’s impossible for most animals to eat and sleep at the…

There’s no doubt that an extra copy of chromosome 21 is what causes Down syndrome. There’s a lot of doubt, however, over which particular gene—or combination of genes—on chromosome 21 is the actual cause of its symptoms. To flesh out our understanding, geneticists must grapple with this large chunk of the genome that includes more…

Although foxes look cuddly, these wild animals are equipped with sharp bites—and temperaments to match. Fear not, however, if you’re dying to get close to theses fluffy foxes: a nearly 60-year-old experiment has produced a line of them that are friendly enough to pet.   The process of creating these tame foxes mirrors the way…

Malinois dogs are working animals known for being used by the Secret Service to guard the White House. These dogs, a subtype of the Belgian Shepherd breed, are robust, with an average life expectancy of 10-12 years. But some puppies are afflicted by a genetic condition called spongy degeneration with cerebellar ataxia (SDCA). A puppy…

Epilepsy is characterized by recurrent seizures, often with no immediately obvious cause. In the August issue of G3, Ferland et al. use a genome-wide association study in mice to show that after multiple seizures, the genetic basis of seizure variation shifts from previously identified genomic regions to new ones. This research shows that the genetic…

In critical situations, communication can mean the difference between life and death. If our house goes up in flames, we don’t need to smell smoke to be alarmed as long as someone yells, “Fire!” This isn’t unique to humans; even creatures with much less sophisticated means of sharing information have ways of telling each other…