Tag: Brains

Scientists are Growing Mini Brains to Learn How to Treat Fatal Diseases

Link — Tech

According to the scientific journal Nature Neuroscience, researchers from the University of Cambridge are growing miniature human brain models to study neurological disorders, like the motor-neuron diseases amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia. By sampling a culture of skin cells, reverting them to stem cells and then reprogramming them into specific organs or tissues, researchers can grow organoids that emulate the diseases that they’re studying. …

Via thedailybeast.com

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The Vital Role of Longfin Squids’ Giant Nerve Fibers to Neuroscience

Link — Tech

In 2020, a group of scientists at Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory used the gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 to disable a gene in the Doryteuthis squid (aka the longfin squid). This milestone comes after years of neuroscience developments derived from this particular underwater creature and its dual nerve fibers, called axons. Research on these axons has provided insight into everything from simple nerve signaling to the …

Via nationalgeographic.com

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AlterEgo Listens to the Voices in Your Head

Link — Tech

24-year-old inventor Arnav Kapur’s wearable device AlterEgo, which we previewed during this year’s Ted Fellows announcement, aims to assist people with communication problems by reading the voices in their head. According to Smithsonian Magazine, the technology does so through “a system of sensors that detects the minuscule neuromuscular signals sent by the brain to the vocal cords and muscles of the throat and tongue.” These …

Via smithsonianmag.com

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