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Gel injected into living animals turns into an electrode

23 February 2023

Researchers injected a leech with gel that transforms into a soft electrode, letting them control its muscle contractions – this gel could eventually be used in the brain to treat neurological conditions without surgery

Image of blood vessels in a mouse brain with an the inset picture showing fluorescent microbubbles that have been directed with ultrasound

Microbots tracked while navigating through a living mouse’s brain

15 February 2023

Ultrasound has been used to direct microbots made from bubbles through the brain of a mouse as they are tracked, and the technology might one day help unblock clots that can cause stroke

The hippocampus (orange) is a structure in the brain that plays a key role in memory. Less extensive damage to the hippocampus has been linked to worse amnesia than more severe injuries

Mild brain damage may affect memory more than severe injuries

6 February 2023

In a small study, memory recall was better in people with more severe damage to a brain region involved with memory, compared with those with milder damage. With severe damage, other parts of the brain may take on the damaged region's function

2CX23A8 Microscopic COVID-19 Coronavirus Molecules Close Up - nCOV Influenza Virus Pathogen Under Macro Medical Lab Microscope - Testing, Awareness Concept

The covid-19 virus gets into the brain – what does it do there?

25 January 2023

We now know that covid-19 can cause neurological symptoms, ranging from brain fog and headaches to strokes. Research is beginning to reveal how this happens and hint at better treatments

Spraying drugs up the nose may help heal the brain after a stroke

16 January 2023

Antibody molecules sprayed into the noses of rats have led to the repair of stroke-like damage in the brain, and it may be because the drugs travelled through nerve cells for smell

One brain network may be involved in six mental health conditions

12 January 2023

Depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder have all been linked to problems in the same circuit of brain regions

Neuron connection speeds can increase or decrease with age

Some regions of your brain can communicate faster as you age

9 January 2023

Signals between some regions of the brain may be fastest at age 34, while transmission in other areas gets steadily faster with age. Understanding this may improve our knowledge of neurodevelopmental conditions such as schizophrenia

We may now know how childhood adversity leaves its mark on the brain

5 January 2023

Research in mice suggests that a newly identified brain pathway may be the reason childhood adversity increases the risk of mental health issues as an adult

Cross section of the skull (top) and outer layer of the brain, showing the subarachnoid lymphatic-like membrane in green

We've just discovered a new part of the brain's waste disposal system

5 January 2023

A thin layer of tissue called the subarachnoid lymphatic-like membrane, or SLYM, keeps fresh cerebrospinal fluid separate from fluid containing waste from brain cells

AI uses artificial sleep to learn new task without forgetting the last

10 November 2022

Many AIs can only become good at one task, forgetting everything they know if they learn another. A form of artificial sleep could help stop this from happening