PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

The early death of nerve cells is crucial to form healthy brains

2021-03-30
(Press-News.org) Computer scientists at the University of Surrey have created a ground-breaking model that could improve our understanding of developmental disorders such as autism.

Scientists have long tried to better understand how the cerebral cortex and its layers develop, with pathologies such as autism, schizophrenia and epilepsy linked to this process.

In a paper published by the journal Cerebral Cortex, scientists from Surrey, Newcastle University, and Nottingham University detail how they developed and used a computational model to simulate cell division, cell migration and apoptosis (cell death) in the hope of understanding how these processes affect the development of the brain.

With the help of their computer model, the researchers reproduced a wide number of cerebral structures to study - from rats, to macaques, to humans.

The team also observed that slight changes in how cells perform division and apoptosis lead to the development of cortical structures found in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, polymicrogyria and subcortical band heterotopia.

Dr Roman Bauer, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Research Fellow and lead author of the study from the University of Surrey, said: "We are working towards a comprehensive computational model of the cerebral cortex and how it develops - taking into account how neurons behave and organise themselves in our brains. It is clear to us that computational models have a crucial role to play in helping us to comprehensively understand the complex biological processes that lead to developmental disorders."

Marcus Kaiser, Professor of Neuroinformatics at the University of Nottingham and senior author of the study, said: "A large proportion of nerve cells dies before birth, but it was unclear why these cells are just born to die at such an early stage. The team's results showed that cell death plays an essential role in developing the brain, as it influences the thickness of the cortex's layers, variety and layer cell density."

INFORMATION:

Read the full study here.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Gender discrimination threatens crop yield among smallholder farmers in Africa, researchers say

Gender discrimination threatens crop yield among smallholder farmers in Africa, researchers say
2021-03-30
A study examining bean productivity among smallholder farmers in Tanzania, has found that on average, yields are 6% lower among female than male farmers. Women are often 'invisible' in agriculture, researchers say, due to social structural barriers and national agricultural policies, which do not address discriminatory land rights; education and agricultural information and decision making, which must be tackled to reverse this trend. The paper 'What Does Gender Yield Gap Tell Us about Smallholder Farming in Developing Countries?' published in the open access scientific journal Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing (MDPI), analyzed data from southern region in Tanzania since 2016 and also drew on research ...

Russian biologists discover a transmissible cancer lineage in the Far Eastern mussels

Russian biologists discover a transmissible cancer lineage in the Far Eastern mussels
2021-03-30
'A transmissible cancer was first discovered in dogs in the middle of the 19th century. It is transmitted sexually from a sick dog to a healthy one, the cancer cells themselves being the infective agent. In the 1990s, a contagious cancer was discovered in the Tasmanian devil. Since the cancer was found in only two species of mammals, scientists used to think that it is quite rare in the nature. However, time has come to reconsider this view. A transmissible cancer appears to be fairly widespread among bivalve molluscs,' says Maria Skazina, a research associate at the ...

Helping childhood-onset lupus patients stay healthy as adults

Helping childhood-onset lupus patients stay healthy as adults
2021-03-30
DALLAS - March 30, 2021 - UT Southwestern researchers have identified factors that put patients with childhood-onset lupus at elevated risk for poor outcomes, such as end-stage renal disease or death, as they transition from pediatric to adult health care. The findings, published online in Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism, emphasize the precarious nature of this period and shine a spotlight on areas prime for intervention to help protect these vulnerable patients. Patients with chronic diseases that used to be fatal early in life now often survive to live long lives. However, says study senior author END ...

Infants' language skills more advanced than first words suggest

2021-03-30
Babies can recognise combinations of words even before they have uttered their first word, a study suggests, challenging ideas of how children learn language. Assessments in 11-12 month-olds show that infants at the cusp of talking are already processing multiword phrases such as 'clap your hands'. Researchers say the study is the first to provide evidence that young children can pick up and understand multiword sequences before they can talk or begin producing such combinations themselves. The findings suggest that babies learn individual words and more complex phrases at the same time, which challenges the perspective that they progress from single words to phrases and sentences, experts say. It may also explain why adults who learn a new language in later life ...

Lack of competition and transparency: challenges in the online advertising market

2021-03-30
The first online advertisement was a banner for AT&T that appeared on the HotWired.com website in 1994, when there were just 30 million internet users worldwide. Today, 57% of the world's population has access to the internet and advertising technology has advanced to the point that by 2018 the digital advertising market in Europe alone was worth 55 billion euros. Of this amount, 16.8 billion euros is accounted for by programmatic advertising, which uses artificial intelligence to automate much of the buying and selling of internet advertising. A new report, published by Open Evidence, a ...

Groundwater discharge affects water quality in coastal waters

Groundwater discharge affects water quality in coastal waters
2021-03-30
Water quality management in the ocean often targets visible pollution sources such as sewage, rivers or ships. A new global study, led by researchers at the University of Gothenburg, reveals that invisible groundwater discharges may be just as important driving nitrogen into coastal waters. As we enter the United Nations' Decade of the Oceans, a new research study shed light on an often overlooked source of impact on the coastal ecosystems. The study, which examined groundwater discharges at more than 200 locations worldwide, showed that groundwater is the major source of nitrogen and phosphorus to the ocean at many locations, including some areas in the Baltic Sea. "Groundwater is essentially invisible and difficult to investigate. That ...

Water splitting for solar energy conversion

Water splitting for solar energy conversion
2021-03-30
In order to enable large-scale hydrogen production using solar energy, particulate photocatalysts are being researched as a simple and cost-effective solution to splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. It is necessary to develop a photocatalyst that can efficiently use visible light, which accounts for a large part of solar energy, in the water decomposition reaction. Barium tantalum oxynitride (BaTaO2N) is an oxynitride semiconductor material that absorbs visible light up to 650 nm and has a band structure capable of decomposing water into hydrogen and oxygen. Until very recently, it had not been possible to load BaTaO2N granules with co-catalyst fine particles, which are reaction ...

Doctors experiencing domestic abuse feel socially and professionally isolated

2021-03-30
Female doctors who suffer domestic abuse can feel unable to get help due to perceptions that it "should not happen to a doctor" and a judgemental culture in medical settings, a new study suggests. Victim-survivors who work as doctors often do not feel able to talk about abuse confidentially and fear the consequences of reporting it. Researchers from the University of Southampton interviewed twenty-one female doctors who had previously left an abusive relationship about their experience of domestic abuse, barriers they faced when seeking help, and the impact on their work. The findings have been published in the British Journal of General Practice. Dr Emily Donovan, who led the study from the University of Southampton's Primary Care Research Centre said: "Domestic ...

Degrees of happiness? Formal education does not lead to greater job satisfaction, study shows

2021-03-30
Education is considered one of the most critical personal capital investments. But formal educational attainment doesn't necessarily pay off in job satisfaction, according to new research from the University of Notre Dame. In fact, there is almost no relationship between the two, according to "Does Educational Attainment Promote Job Satisfaction? The Bittersweet Trade-offs Between Job Resources, Demands and Stress," forthcoming in the Journal of Applied Psychology from Brittany Solomon (Hall), assistant professor of management, and Dean Shepherd, the Ray and Milann Siegfried ...

New model to help identify risk factors for reading difficulties in children

New model to help identify risk factors for reading difficulties in children
2021-03-30
Researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center have developed a new framework for different factors influencing how a child's brain is "wired" to learn to read before kindergarten. This may help pediatric providers identify risks when the brain is most responsive to experiences and interventions. This "eco-bio-developmental" model of emergent literacy, described in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, reinforces the potential of early screening, prevention, and intervention during pediatric clinic visits in early childhood. This kind of model is advocated by the American Academy ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

University of Oklahoma researcher awarded funding to bridge gap between molecular data and tissue architecture

Nationally-recognized pathologist Paul N. Staats, MD, named Chair of Pathology at University of Maryland School of Medicine

The world’s snow leopards are very similar genetically. That doesn’t bode well for their future

Researchers find key to stopping deadly infection

Leafcutter ants have blind spots, just like truck drivers

Tayac receives funding for community engagement project

Parker receives funding for Elementary Education Program Professional Development School (PDS)

Physicists uncork a message in a bottle from another star

Sanders receives funding for project aimed at enabling prostheses for children with lower extremity amputation

Engineers develop solid lubricant to replace toxic materials in farming

Repurposing gemstone polishing waste to create smart cement

Patient-physician messaging by race, ethnicity, insurance type, and preferred language

Unrecognized motor difficulties and developmental coordination disorder in preschool children

Background genetic variants influence clinical features in complex disorders

Smarter battery tech knows whether your EV will make it home

Overactive microRNAs block fat cell development in progeria

Crosswalk confusion: MA drivers flummoxed by pedestrian hybrid beacons, find UMass Amherst researchers

Study shows heart disease mortality disproportionately burdens low-income communities in California

Intracardiac echocardiography recognized as ‘transformative’ imaging modality in new SCAI position statement

Study finds ‘man’s best friend’ slows cellular aging in female veterans

To get representative health data, researchers hand out fitbits

Hiring in high-growth firms: new study explores the timing of organizational changes

Boosting work engagement through a simple smartphone diary

Climate change may create ‘ecological trap’ for species who can’t adapt

Scientists create ChatGPT-like AI model for neuroscience to build one of the most detailed mouse brain maps to date

AI and omics unlock personalized drugs and RNA therapies for heart disease

2023 ocean heatwave ‘unprecedented but not unexpected’

Johns Hopkins researchers develop AI to predict risk of US car crashes

New drug combination offers hope for men with advanced prostate cancer

New discovery finds gene converts insulin-producing cells into blood-sugar boosters

[Press-News.org] The early death of nerve cells is crucial to form healthy brains