Dominant personality may be hardcoded in the brain

A study with dominant and subordinate mice suggests that personality traits making one a social leader are likely to be hardcoded in the brain. Researchers of the Chinese Academy of Science discovered that a certain part of the brain, when put in an active state, causes animals to behave in a more dominant way. Moreover, when the researchers silenced this brain area, mice were found to be much less dominant than before. Their discovery is yet another link between brain activity and correspondent behaviour, teaching us more about how our brain is a foundation for the personality we develop during life.

Early steps in tumour formation made more clear

A new technique has given us more insights in how cells start to become cancerous. Scientists observed a process called translocation, where one piece of a chromosome breaks off, and promptly gets tied to another one. By discovering in which way the pieces of DNA reconnect, we now have more information in how these rearrangements can induce cellular events that promote uncontrolled growth. For their experiments, scientists of  The Rockefeller University induced DNA breakdown in chromosomes by a specific enzyme that only cuts the DNA at known locations. Thereafter, they observed which pieces of DNA were able to reconnect with the parts that were broken off. The experiments revealed several aspects of this translocation process, that we may use to prevent the onset of cancer, instead of trying to cure it afterwards.

Autism induced in mice to help us study the disease

Psychological diseases, like autism, are hard to study in animals, because they can not think in the way we humans do. However, in an effort to create a mouse model to study autism, researchers have discovered that mice lacking a certain gene display a lot of the typical autism symptoms that are found in humans, like repetitive behaviour. In addition, autistic mice were found to be less social and vocal than their wildtype counterparts. Perhaps even more surprisingly, treating the mice with a drug that is also used to treat autism in humans, ameliorated the symptoms.

Rats get partly 'robot brain'

A new step in the development to create fully-fledged bionic robots, as scientists have replaced part of the rat brain by a chip, which is supposed to mimic its functions. The synthetic implant, which replaces the part of the brain called cerebellum, appears to be functioning in anesthetized rats. Researchers from Tel Aviv University showed that animals in which the cerebellum was replaced by the chip could be taught a reflex. Normally, the cerebellum is needed to coordinate reflex behavior, showing that the digital brain is functional. A first step in replacing brain material with a 'robot version', and something we might harness for patients with brain damage, for example due to stroke.

Protein study shows how our brain forms memories

Studies conducted on a protein called kibra shows how our brain creates and erases memories. Scientists from John Hopkins University used a mouse model where they decreased the amount of kibra in the brain, and showed that animals lacking this protein showed less plasticity, which basically means neurons were less able to make new connections and disconnect from other neurons. This process is highly important in the formation of memories, as they consist of various connections between neurons, linking factors such as smell, vision, taste and other parameters into one cohesive image of the past. The kibra study gives us more insight into the highly complex process of memory formation, and might aid us in developing methods to counter neurodegenerative diseases in which the memory function of the brain is altered, such as Alzheimer's disease.

Potent new compounds found to combat flu

Flu epidemics are a yearly recurring event, caused by the mutational strength of the virus that causes the disease: influenza. Because of the high tendency to mutate, and therefore evade our immune system and the drugs we develop, scientists have been looking at new ways to get rid of the influenza virus. A new method focuses at boosting the body's response, instead of targeting the virus itself. Two new lead compounds that are currently being tested showed high efficacy against three strains of influenza, one of them being the famous viral strain that caused a pandemic in 1918, killing between 50 and 100 million people worldwide. The flu currently kills about half a million people in the world each year. A novel protection mechanism could bring down the number of deaths, as well as rendering the need for yearly flu vaccines unnecessary.

Artificial heart cells beat in response to light

Heart cells created in the lab are able to beat in synchronized fashion by externally controlling them with light. This remarkable feature was artificially built in by scientists from Stanford University, by adopting a gene found in algae. The gene, coding for the light sensitive protein channelrhodopsin-2, was inserted in the genome of human embryonic stem cells, which were consequently directed to transform into heart cells, so called cardiomyocytes. These specialized muscle cells are found in the heart, where their synchronized beating causes the contraction and relaxation needed to pump blood in and from the heart. By controlling the beating process externally with light pulses, scientists may have found a new way to generate pacemakers for artificially constructed heart tissue, that can be used in heart regeneration treatment.