This Week on NeuroScientistNews: 4 May – 8 May

Neuroscience beyond the bench; link between diabetes and Alzheimer’s; organization of the sensory cortex, and more.

♦ Profile of Won Yung Choi, Neuroscience beyond the Bench

Not all neuroscientists work at the lab bench. In this profile we follow the story of Won Yung Choi, National Sales Manager for the Americas, Bitplane. Choi discusses her experiences transitioning out of academia to a non-traditional neuroscience role.

♦ The dark side of cannabis: Risks associated with non-medicinal use

Although the use of cannabis as a medical drug is currently booming, we should not forget that leisure time consumption -- for example, smoking weed -- can cause acute and chronic harms. These include panic attacks, impaired coordination of movement, and nausea, as Eva Hoch and colleagues show in a topical review article in Deutsches Ärzteblatt International.

♦ New link found between diabetes and Alzheimer’s

Researchers have uncovered a unique connection between diabetes and Alzheimer's disease, providing further evidence that a disease that robs people of their memories may be affected by elevated blood sugar, according to scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

♦ 3D reconstruction of neuronal networks provides unprecedented insight into organizational principles of sensory cortex

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics (Germany), VU University Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience (USA) succeed in reconstructing the neuronal networks that interconnect the elementary units of sensory cortex – cortical columns.

♦ Cellular bubbles used to deliver Parkinson's meds directly to brain

Researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill have used exosomes -- tiny bubbles of protein and fat produced naturally by cells -- to bypass the body's defenses and deliver a potent antioxidant directly to the brain to treat Parkinson's disease.