‘Light Saber’ Offers Precise Tool to Decipher Cell Function
Protein engineers and neurobiologists at UCSF have teamed up to create a biological light saber — an engineered protein that can slay specific cells simply by exposing them to light.
University of California San Francisco
Give to UCSFProtein engineers and neurobiologists at UCSF have teamed up to create a biological light saber — an engineered protein that can slay specific cells simply by exposing them to light.
Researchers at UCSF have identified specific gut microbes associated with MS in human patients, showing that these microbes take part in regulating immune responses in mouse models of the disease.
UCSF researchers have identified a protein that links alcohol consumption with structural changes in one of the “reward centers” in the mouse brain.
The mechanisms by which the brain regulates breathing are still a mystery, one that UCSF physiologist Kevin Yackle is tackling with the latest tools of molecular biology.
Researchers at UCSF have identified neurons in the human brain that respond to pitch changes in spoken language, which are essential to clearly conveying both meaning and emotion.
The Global Brain Health Institute has brought in its first class of Atlantic Fellows. The 32 fellows are taking a range of classes and pursuing projects with the goal of returning to their communities with knowledge and skills to implement changes impacting brain health.
The benefits of a good night’s sleep have become widely known, and now neuroscientists at UCSF have discovered that the animal brain reinforces motor skills during deep sleep.
Scientists at UC San Francisco have found that administering a fragment of the klotho protein to young, aging or impaired mice rapidly improves their cognitive and physical performance.
Rare deletions or duplications of about 600 genetic “letters” in a region on chromosome 16 confer a high risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and other neurodevelopmental conditions.
UCSF neuroscientists answered questions about a molecule that reverses severe memory and learning impairments in mice with traumatic brain injury.
New research by UCSF neuroscientist Robert Edwards has uncovered the role alpha-synuclein plays in the normal brain. The protein has long been implicated in Parkinson’s disease.
Interim Dean Sandra Weiss of the UCSF School of Nursing is leading three major studies aimed at shedding important light on some of the most pressing issues facing American women with depression and the clinicians who treat them.
UCSF scientists used an experimental drug to completely reverse severe learning and memory impairments caused by traumatic brain injury in mice.
Immune cells in the brain trigger overeating and weight gain in response to diets rich in fat, according to a new study in mice led by researchers from UCSF and the UW Medical Center.
UCSF researchers have drawn a link between genetic abnormalities in neurodegenerative diseases and the formation of RNA foci, work the scientists said may open avenues to the development of new drug treatments.
Researchers made a significant advance, identifying the first “high-confidence” risk gene for Tourette disorder as well as three other probable risk genes.
After undergoing surgery, elderly patients often experience cloudy thinking. Mounting evidence suggests that heightened inflammation in the brain following surgery is the more likely cause.
A newly approved drug that is the first to reflect the current scientific understanding of multiple sclerosis is holding new hope for the hundreds of thousands Americans living with the disease. It also highlights the importance of clinician scientists like UCSF’s Stephen Hauser who are working to transform research into cures for patients.
Studying brain disorders is complicated for many reasons, not the least being the ethics of obtaining living neurons. To overcome that obstacle, UCSF postdoc Aditi Deshpande is starting with skin cells.
Sharks, rays and skates can hunt for prey hidden in the sandy sea floor by “listening” for faint traces of bioelectricity – they can literally sense their prey’s heart beating.
In an unprecedented leap from lab to patients, a potential treatment for childhood epilepsy identified in experiments with zebrafish.
New research is paving the way to a precision medicine approach to the diagnosis and treatment of patients with traumatic brain injury.
Research uses brain “organoids” — tiny 3D models of human organs that scientists grow in a dish to study disease — to identify root causes of MDS, a rare genetic disorder that causes fatal brain malformations.
Distinct sets of genetic defects in a single neuronal protein can lead either to infantile epilepsy or to autism spectrum disorders.
For concussion sufferers, physicians may now be able to predict early on who is more likely to continue experiencing symptoms months or years after the head-jarring event.
Children with severe cases of epilepsy such as Dravet syndrome are finding new and unexpected cures thanks to determined pediatricians and translational research at UCSF.
Researchers at UCSF have developed a new optogenetic tool that can be used to completely eliminate single cells from brain networks in animals. The researchers believe the new tool will enable exquisitely precise experiments to help researchers understand how each cell contributes to the whole.
UCSF scientists have discovered an unexpected mechanism the brain uses to seamlessly compensate when speech sounds are obscured by noise.
Stories about sensory processing disorder, videos about “zombie” cancer cells, and news about the effects of caffeine and alcohol on the heart were among the topics that most engaged our readers in 2016.