The It Ain't Magic Science Blog

Locating social memories in the brain

Scientists have identified where social memories are stored in the brains of mice. Mice are forgotten because memories cannot be retrieved.

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Dopamine reduces beta-amyloid plaques in Alzheimer’s disease

Increasing dopamine in the brains of AD model mice led to increased neprilysin, which broke down amyloid-beta plaques and improved memory.

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Pulses of light can enhance superconductivity

Pulses of light could be used to turn materials into superconductors through an unconventional type of superconductivity.

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Mutation links bipolar disorder to mitochondrial disease

ANT1 mutations found in bipolar disease that affect mitochondria lead to hyperexcitable serotonergic neuronal activity in the brain.

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Memories are made of this ?? – (Part 2)

Thomas McHugh from the RIKEN Center for Brain Science continues his discussion about memories, emotions, the brain, and life.

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Atlas of the aging lipidome highlights kidneys and gut bacteria

The atlas revealed sex differences in the aging kidney lipidome and lipid byproducts of gut bacteria that accumulate throughout the body.

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Self-assembly of spider silk

This gut microbe might protect against diabetes and reduce insulin resistance

NEW: One-way hydrogel guides motion of tiny worms!

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Hibernation-like state can protect kidneys during heart surgery

Activating Q-neurons in the mouse brain led to a hibernation-like state that protected kidneys during heart surgery.

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Robotic AI helps efficient growth of replacement organs

Humans team-up with a robotic AI to speed up experiments to find the best way to regrow damaged eye tissue from stem cells.

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Tape and vermilion: ingredients for mapping artifact origins

Vermilion samples taken from ancient artifacts with sulfur-free tape can tell us about trade patterns 3000 years ago.

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Smoker gut bacteria reduce bowel inflammation in ulcerative colitis

Mouth bacteria that settle in the guts of smokers activate helper T-cells that counter inflammation in ulcerative colitis.

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Finding real rewards in a virtual world

A new study shows that mice who learn to find goals in virtual reality use their hippocampus the same was as in the real world.

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Massive filaments, galaxies, and supermassive black holes

Big telescopes yield big data! Detailed observations gas filaments connecting galaxies in a distant proto-cluster in the early Universe.

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Mar

Heat shock system helps dried up bug come back to life

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

An international collaboration has determined that cooption of the Heat Shock Factor (HSF) gene system is what allows larvae of the sleeping chironomid to be able to survive severe desiccation.

Feb

In living color: imaging the brain with synthetic bioluminescence

by admin | Hot Off the Press

A new way to image the brain from outside the head using bioluminescence.

Feb

Deep-brain exploration with nanomaterials

by admin | Hot Off the Press

A new way to optogenetically activate neurons deep in the brain using infrared light and upconversion nanoparticles. It’s non-invasive!

Feb

Running away from carbon dioxide: the terminal connection

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Even fish want to avoid carbon dioxide. Now we know that they can because of chemosensation and the Terminal Nerve.

Jan

Rainbow engineering to make the brain glow

by admin | Drop of science

Bar talk about tinkering with bioluminescent molecules from jellyfish, corals, and algae, figuring out how they work, and making them more useful for brain science.

Jan

Geostationary satellite enables better precipitation and flood predictions

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

Data from the Himawari-8 geosynchronous satellite was used in weather simulations to improve forecasts of sudden precipitation and tropical storm development.

Jan

Clean and green: a moss that removes lead (Pb) from water

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Scientists show that the moss Funaria hygrometrica can remove harmful lead from water when in the protonema stage of development.

Jan

The brain’s GPS has a buddy system

by admin | Hot Off the Press

In addition to encoding self location, brain cells in the rat hippocampus act like a GPS that encodes the location of other rats.

Dec

Leaky plants bad for drought resistance

by adam phillips | Research in Depth

The KAI2 receptor for compounds found in smoke helps plants retain water and survive during drought.

Talking science Illustration with Misaki Ouchida

Whether it’s bird anatomy or science cartoons, Masaki Ouchida can do it all. She spoke with us about her career in science illustration, from the US to Japan.

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Social contact-seeking behavior and loneliness in the brain

Levels of the peptide amylin in the brain are related to loneliness; activating amylin neurons in the MPOA drives isolated mice to seek social contact.