Science News: Our Weekly Picks from Around the Web

What’s Different About The Brains Of People With Autism?
Jeff Hudale has let scientists study his brain for the past 25 years to help them better understand autism. NPR reports.
www.npr.org (06/04/2012)

Researchers Restore Neuron Function to Brains Damaged by Huntington’s Disease
“Use of transplanted induced pluripotent stem cells could lead to new treatments for HD”
www.sacbee.com (05/29/2012)

Paralyzed rats run again: Could method help humans?
“Paralyzed rats learned to walk, run and spring deftly over obstacles after they were put on a physical training regimen that included electrical and chemical stimulation of their broken spinal columns and a “robotic postural interface,” a new study reveals.”
articles.latimes.com (05/31/2012)

$1 million prizes shared by 7 scientists for astronomy, brain science and very tiny materials
“Seven scientists won prizes Thursday for discoveries that involve the furthest reaches of the solar system, vanishingly tiny materials and the complexities of the brain. One finding helped end Pluto’s status as a planet.”
www.washingtonpost.com (05/31/2012)

Scientists hit major milestone in whole-brain circuit mapping project
“Neuroscientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) reached an important milestone, publicly releasing the first installment out of 500 TB of data so far collected in their pathbreaking project to construct the first whole-brain wiring diagram of a vertebrate brain, that of the mouse.”
www.rdmag.com (06/01/2012)

Image Credit: Ralph-Axel Müller via Wikimedia Commons, CCAL 2.5 license.