News

The normal function of a gene associated with the brain diseases amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) has been determined.

New details revealed of how a naturally occurring hormone can boost memory in aging mice, laying the groundwork for staving off this form of memory loss in people.

A child has until the age of two-and-a-half to establish healthy gut bacteria – with little change after this point.

Researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute have created the first comprehensive summary of all genes known to be involved in human cancer, the "Cancer Gene Census".

A pioneer in the study of neural cells has revealed how a single mutation affecting the most common protein in a supporting brain cell produces devastating, fibrous globs. These, in turn, disturb the location of cellular processing units, harm the flow of energy and signals through the brain, and reduce the formation of myelin, an essential insulator for neurons.

Pioneering research into the mechanisms controlling gene activity and epigenetic factors in the brain could hold the key to understanding Alzheimer’s disease and might help identify effective treatments in the future.

Possible links between herpes and Alzheimer's disease have been assessed in a recent review.

New research led by the University of Sydney has revealed the life expectancy of chocolate Labradors is significantly lower than their black and yellow counterparts.

Researchers have succeeded in using CRISPR-Cas9, to decrease mosquito body size, moving the research one step closer to eliminating mosquitoes that carry dengue fever and Zika virus.

Previous work by the International Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Consortium (IMSGC) has identified 233 genetic risk variants. However, these only account for about 20% of overall disease risk, with the remaining genetic culprits proving elusive. A new study has tracked down four of these hard-to-find genes.