21st Century Innovative Technologies and Developments as also discoveries, curiosity ( insolite)...

Researchers used to think that after adolescence, people were pretty well stuck with the brain cells they’d already formed. No so anymore. Discoveries in recent years have shown that neurogenesis—the formation of new neurons—can occur much later than this, well into adulthood. And now, a new study from the University of Illinois at Chicago finds that brain cells can form into one’s nineties, even if one has cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease (though at a much decelerated rate). The question is how the late-in-life growth of new neurons fits into what’s already known about degenerative diseases.

The study was published last week in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

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Interesting article Via Singularityhub The carbon fiber legs or “blades” used by lower limb amputee runners have arguably become one of the most iconic symbols of the Paralympic Games. Although dif…

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Researchers at the University of Tokyo have created a method for growing and connecting single neurons using geometric patterns to route the neurons more precisely, cell by cell.

The article, “Assembly and Connection of Micropatterned Single Neurons for Neuronal Network Formation,” appeared in Micromachines, a journal of molecular machinery.

Thus far researchers have created simple brain matter using “in vitro cultures,” a process that grows neurons haphazardly in a clump. The connections associated with these cultures are random, thereby making the brain tissue difficult to study.

“In vitro culture models are essential tools because they approximate relatively simple neuron networks and are experimentally controllable,” said study author Shotaro Yoshida. “These models have been instrumental to the field for decades. The problem is that they’re very difficult to control, since the neurons tend to make random connections with each other. If we can find methods to synthesize neuron networks in a more controlled fashion, it would likely spur major advances in our understanding of the brain.

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A miniature atom-based magnetic sensor developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has passed an important research milestone by succ...

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