In space, the human body loses muscle mass. Although living in microgravity requires no heavy lifting, this loss of muscle reduces physical performance. Decreased muscle mass could also prove particularly problematic on future missions to destinations such as the Moon... Continue Reading →
A study of 35 families led by a UC San Francisco psychiatric researcher showed for the first time that the structure of the brain circuitry known as the corticolimbic system is more likely to be passed down from mothers to... Continue Reading →
If a mother picks up an infection during pregnancy, her immune system will kick into action to clear the infection – but this self-defense mechanism may also have a small influence how her child’s brain develops in the womb, in... Continue Reading →
Normal function of the brain’s control centers is dependent upon adequate supply of oxygen and nutrients through a dense network of blood vessels. Blood is supplied to the brain, face, and scalp via two major sets of vessels: the right... Continue Reading →
An estimated 50 to 70 million Americans have some type of sleep disorder, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Some turn to melatonin supplements to help them fall asleep. Melatonin is a hormone known to promote sleep, but its underlying... Continue Reading →
In a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine, a Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) research team reports a remarkable treatment response in a patient participating in a clinical trial of a novel immune-system-based cancer therapy. Treatment with an investigational... Continue Reading →
Our lungs may be doing much more than just helping us breathe. A series of experiments on mice, carried out by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), has revealed that these organs play a crucial role in... Continue Reading →
Two infants with leukemia are now in remission, thanks to a world-first treatment that uses genetically engineered T-cells from healthy donors. The UK patients were first given the treatment back in 2015, after chemotherapy failed to show results. Now, after... Continue Reading →
Prediction is crucial for brain function—without forecasting, our actions would always be too late because of the delay in neural processing. However, there has been limited theoretical work explaining how our brains perform perceptual predictions over time. In the latest... Continue Reading →
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