The microscopic world just got a whole lot clearer for scientists around the world who use MBF Bioscience software. When images are magnified as intensely as they are in today's world of highly advanced scientific research, they don't always appear crystal clear. But by incorporating the clarifying process of deconvolution to microscopic images, previously hidden details emerge, allowing scientists to work with greater facility. Deconvolution is...
Read More
Scientific research shows that women are twice as likely as men to develop stress disorders. Why are women more sensitive than men to stress? A recent research study presents new evidence that estrogen could play a role. The symptoms of disorders like major depressive disorder and post traumatic stress disorder lead neuroscientists to speculate that a dysfunction occurs in the way the medial prefrontal cortex connects...
Read MoreStomach pain, heartburn, and head rushes are frequent complaints of patients suffering from long-term diabetes. Doctors usually blame these symptoms on autonomic neuropathy, a dysfunction of the nerves that regulate blood pressure, heart rate, and digestion. But there's really not all that much evidence out there to prove this diagnosis. Researchers at the University of Minnesota and Wake Forest University set out to discover the...
Read More
Scientists who research genetic disorders might want to reconsider the way they transfer therapeutic genes to cells in the central nervous system. Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors are the most common way to transfer DNA into neural cells because of their nonpathogenic nature and long-term transduction abilities. Specifically, researchers most frequently use AAV serotype 2 (AAV2). But scientists at the Yale University School of Medicine believe that...
Read More
How do you find the volume of a sphere? It is a question that you’ve answered on math exams stretching all the way back to the sixth grade, but the formula eludes your brain. What is it that causes you to forget something that has been ingrained in your brain Dr. John Morrison of Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Peter R. Rapp, PHD and other...
Read More
History is being made at George Washington University’s Laboratory for Evolutionary Neuroanatomy, and Stereo Investigator is playing a part. Using Stereo Investigator to count neurons, estimate axon fiber length, and quantify cellular volumes, Dr. Chet C. Sherwood and his team are carrying out "detailed comparisons of neural phenotypes between humans and our closest relatives, the great apes." A recent focus at the lab is the emergence...
Read More
Myelin, which insulates axons in the central nervous system is produced by oligodendrocytes. But not all oligodendrocytes are equal. Led by Dr. Jonathan Vinet of the Université Laval in Quebec, scientists have identified three different types of oligodendrocytes in the mouse hippocampus: "ramified," "stellar," and "smooth." Each type displayed varying morphological characteristics, mainly in shape, volume, and branching behavior, which led the researchers to believe that the...
Read More
There may be more evidence that schizophrenia results from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. One of these hereditary influences may be an impaired ability to synthesize the antioxidant glutathione (GSH), which results in oxidative stress, according to a study conducted by scientists at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. By observing mice with a GSH deficit, Dr. Kim Q. Do and her team determined...
Read More
University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers have used Neurolucida since it was in its embryonic stages in the 1960s. Now, nearly a half-century later, the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology continues using Neurolucida in their research, as outlined in a recent study concerning the organization of the olfactory system. Dr. Michael Shipley and his team collaborated with scientists from Hungary and Japan on the paper...
Read More
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia. Most cases occur in people over 65, and are not genetically inherited. Roughly five percent of Alzheimer's patients suffer from familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD), an uncommon form that tends to strike sooner, and is related to a genetic predisposition - most commonly, a mutation in the presenilin 1 gene (PS1). A recent study, led by Dr. Miguel...
Read More