A tug-of-war between the two sides of the brain causes it to become asymmetrical, according to research published today in the journal Neuron. Asymmetry in the brain is thought to be important to enable the two hemispheres to specialise and operate more efficiently.
Left-right asymmetry is present in the brains of most animals and is first evident at the time of early brain development. However, until now, scientists did not know the mechanisms that bring it about. Now, in a study funded primarily by the Wellcome Trust, researchers have shown that a competition between the two sides causes this asymmetry.
By studying brain development in zebrafish, PhD student Jenny Regan and her colleagues in Professor Stephen Wilson's team at UCL (University College London) have shown that a protein known as Fgf8 acts as a magnet to attract nerve cells to one side of the brain.
Health & Wellness
Finding simpler ways to deliver insulin into the blood stream is one important avenue for tackling the diabetes epidemic that is sweeping the developed world.
The preferred option for many patients would be an insulin pill taken orally. But studies have long shown that insulin is easily broken down by the digestive system and that any surviving enzyme is not easily absorbed into the bloodstream from the gut.
An insulin inhaler made it as far as the US market in 2006, but was withdrawn a year later because it wasn't cost effective.
But Robert Doyle, a chemist at Syracuse University in New York state, has a potential solution. He points out that the body has specific mechanisms for protecting and absorbing valuable molecules that would usually be damaged by conditions in the gut.
For example, vitamin B12 is protected by a salivary protein called haptocorrin that binds to it in the mouth and protects it in the stomach. Once haptocorrin reaches the intestines, another chemical pathway takes over to help vitamin B12 pass into the bloodstream.
The preferred option for many patients would be an insulin pill taken orally. But studies have long shown that insulin is easily broken down by the digestive system and that any surviving enzyme is not easily absorbed into the bloodstream from the gut.
An insulin inhaler made it as far as the US market in 2006, but was withdrawn a year later because it wasn't cost effective.
But Robert Doyle, a chemist at Syracuse University in New York state, has a potential solution. He points out that the body has specific mechanisms for protecting and absorbing valuable molecules that would usually be damaged by conditions in the gut.
For example, vitamin B12 is protected by a salivary protein called haptocorrin that binds to it in the mouth and protects it in the stomach. Once haptocorrin reaches the intestines, another chemical pathway takes over to help vitamin B12 pass into the bloodstream.
A pill that could mitigate some of the negative health effects of smoking is a step closer to reality.
Researchers have identified 28 molecules that are produced in abnormal amounts in cells lining the airways of smokers. If the levels of these molecules could be restored to that of non-smokers it might allow chronic smokers who have been unable to quit to improve their health prospects. It might also enable people to smoke without significant damage to their health.
Avrum Spira at Boston University School of Medicine and his colleagues took samples of cells from the airways of 10 smokers and 10 non-smokers and identified 28 microRNAs - molecules that control the expression of whole networks of related genes - that were perturbed in the smokers.
Researchers have identified 28 molecules that are produced in abnormal amounts in cells lining the airways of smokers. If the levels of these molecules could be restored to that of non-smokers it might allow chronic smokers who have been unable to quit to improve their health prospects. It might also enable people to smoke without significant damage to their health.
Avrum Spira at Boston University School of Medicine and his colleagues took samples of cells from the airways of 10 smokers and 10 non-smokers and identified 28 microRNAs - molecules that control the expression of whole networks of related genes - that were perturbed in the smokers.
© iStockphoto/Ong Kok Keat
People with a higher caffeine intake, from sources such as coffee, tea and caffeinated energy drinks, are more likely to report hallucinatory experiences such as hearing voices and seeing things that are not there.
People with a higher caffeine intake, from sources such as coffee, tea and caffeinated energy drinks, are more likely to report hallucinatory experiences such as hearing voices and seeing things that are not there.
People with a higher caffeine intake, from sources such as coffee, tea and caffeinated energy drinks, are more likely to report hallucinatory experiences such as hearing voices and seeing things that are not there, according to the Durham University study.
'High caffeine users' - those who consumed more than the equivalent of seven cups of instant coffee a day - were three times more likely to have heard a person's voice when there was no one there compared with 'low caffeine users' who consumed less than the equivalent of one cup of instant coffee a day.
With ninety per cent of North Americans consuming some of form caffeine every day, it is the world's most widely used drug.
© Henryk T Kaiser/Rex
After playing with their pets, dog owners seem to experience a burst in oxytocin - a hormone linked to infant care and romantic love.
After playing with their pets, dog owners seem to experience a burst in oxytocin - a hormone linked to infant care and romantic love.
Who needs children when a puppy can provide a similar emotional experience? After playing with their pets, dog owners experience a burst in a hormone linked to infant care, not to mention romantic love and friendship, new research finds.
Nicknamed the "cuddle chemical" and the "love drug", oxytocin has been found to dampen stress, combat depression, and breed trust in humans. Studies of voles, mice and rats also point to oxytocin's role in pair bonding and social memory.
For this reason, biologists Miho Nagasawa and Takefumi Kikusui, of Azuba University in Japan, wondered whether social contact between two different species could boost oxytocin levels, as well.
"Miho and I are big dog lovers and feel something changed in our bodies when gazed [upon] by our dogs," Kikusui says.
A genetic variation involving the brain chemical serotonin has been found to shape the social behavior of rhesus macaque monkeys, which could provide researchers with a new model for studying autism, social anxiety and schizophrenia. Humans and macaques are the only members of the primate family to have this particular genetic trait.
"We have found very similar gene-based disruptions in social rewards shared by monkeys and by humans," said Michael Platt, Ph.D., associate professor of neurobiology at Duke University Medical Center and an expert in neuroeconomics.
The study appears in the online journal PLoS One on Jan. 13.
"We have found very similar gene-based disruptions in social rewards shared by monkeys and by humans," said Michael Platt, Ph.D., associate professor of neurobiology at Duke University Medical Center and an expert in neuroeconomics.
The study appears in the online journal PLoS One on Jan. 13.
© Paul J. Henderson, Chilliwack Times
Alice Jongerden, Raw Dairy Farmer British Columbia, Canada
Alice Jongerden, Raw Dairy Farmer British Columbia, Canada
The type 2 diabetes epidemic that continues to sweep across the United States has left an estimated 24 million Americans struggling with the disease, up more than 3 million people since 2005. And, of course, with the epidemic comes the wave of illnesses and disabilities brought on by diabetes -- heart disease and stroke, blindness, amputations, kidney disease and nervous system damage.
Doctors are trying to reverse the tide in two ways.
First, they're continuing to press the public to adopt healthy lifestyle changes that can head off type 2 diabetes, or, at the very least, help control it if it's already present. And researchers are pushing to develop new drugs to help people manage their diabetes more effectively.
Doctors are trying to reverse the tide in two ways.
First, they're continuing to press the public to adopt healthy lifestyle changes that can head off type 2 diabetes, or, at the very least, help control it if it's already present. And researchers are pushing to develop new drugs to help people manage their diabetes more effectively.
There are so many parents in this free-spirited, unconventional small town who won't get their kids vaccinated that federal researchers are paying money just to hear their side of things. On Saturday, 80 locals will get $50 apiece to talk about their worries over the risks of childhood shots.
"One of the basic tenets of my decision-making is mistrust of the government, a mistrust of the pharmaceutical companies, and mistrust of the big blanket thing that says this is what everybody has to do," says Tracy Harding, an organic farming consultant and mother of two.
"I get the public health standpoint," she said. "I am still questioning (vaccines') safety."
"One of the basic tenets of my decision-making is mistrust of the government, a mistrust of the pharmaceutical companies, and mistrust of the big blanket thing that says this is what everybody has to do," says Tracy Harding, an organic farming consultant and mother of two.
"I get the public health standpoint," she said. "I am still questioning (vaccines') safety."
A team of researchers from the University of Sydney has developed an innovative method to analyse digital photographs of faces in order to determine an individual's risk of developing Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA).
In conjunction with the Royal North Shore Hospital and the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Professor Peter Cistulli and Dr Richard Lee have found that analysis of detailed measurements of the face from digital photographs can help doctors identify those most in danger of developing OSA.
"The novelty and potential clinical application of our work are very exciting and should hopefully lead to improved recognition and diagnosis of OSA in the community," Professor Cistulli said.
In conjunction with the Royal North Shore Hospital and the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Professor Peter Cistulli and Dr Richard Lee have found that analysis of detailed measurements of the face from digital photographs can help doctors identify those most in danger of developing OSA.
"The novelty and potential clinical application of our work are very exciting and should hopefully lead to improved recognition and diagnosis of OSA in the community," Professor Cistulli said.
Comment: The key to diabetes and many other degenerative diseases is not more drugs but controlling the amount of toxins that we are ingesting everyday from the environment. Listen to our podcast "Toxic World, Toxic Bodies" in the podcast section for more information.