Lifeboat Foundation

Summary: Researchers identified variants in the DDX53 gene, located on the X chromosome, as contributors to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These genetic variants, found predominantly in males, provide critical insights into the biological mechanisms behind autism’s male predominance.

The study also uncovered another potential gene, PTCHD1-AS, near DDX53, linked to autism, emphasizing the complexity of ASD’s genetic architecture. This research highlights the importance of the X chromosome in ASD and opens avenues for more precise diagnostics and therapeutics.

Continue reading “New Genetic Link to Autism Identified on X Chromosome” »

The trans–Tango genetic strategy, which mediates signaling across synapses, was adapted to identify neural connections in a vertebrate nervous system, with synaptic partners confirmed in the retina and spinal cord of larval zebrafish.

While companies like Neuralink have recently provided some flashy demos of what could be achieved by hooking brains up to computers, the technology still has serious limitations preventing wider use.

Non-invasive approaches like electroencephalograms (EEGs) provide only coarse readings of neural signals, limiting their functionality. Directly implanting electrodes in the brain can provide a much clearer connection, but such risky medical procedures are hard to justify for all but the most serious conditions.

California-based startup Science Corporation thinks that an implant using living neurons to connect to the brain could better balance safety and precision. In recent non-peer-reviewed research posted on bioarXiv, the group showed a prototype device could connect with the brains of mice and even let them detect simple light signals.

This latest clue about the architecture of consciousness supports a Nobel Prize winner’s theory about how quantum physics works in your brain.

For nearly his entire life, Dr. Stuart Hameroff has been fascinated with the bedeviling question of consciousness. But instead of studying neurology or another field commonly associated with the inner workings of the brain, it was Hameroff’s familiarity with anesthetics, a family of drugs that famously induces the opposite of consciousness, that fueled his curiosity.

“I thought about neurology, psychology, and neurosurgery, but none of those… eemed to be dealing with the problem of consciousness,” says Hameroff, a now-retired professor of anesthesiology from the University of Arizona. Hameroff recalls a particularly eye-opening moment when he first arrived at the university and met the chairman of the anesthesia department. “He says ‘hey, if you want to understand consciousness, figure out how anesthesia works because we don’t have a clue.’”

Hameroff’s work in anesthesia showed that unconsciousness occurred due to some effect on microtubules and wondered if perhaps these structures somehow played a role in forming consciousness. So instead of using the neuron, or the brain’s nerve cells, as the “base unit” of consciousness, Hameroff’s ideas delved deeper and looked at the billions of individual tubulins inside microtubules themselves. He quickly became obsessed.

This bioengineering breakthrough has found a way to make neurons grown in a dish react just like the real thing.

Researchers at University of California San Diego have developed and tested a new software package, called Spatial Modeling Algorithms for Reactions and Transport (SMART), that can realistically simulate cell-signaling networks—the complex systems of molecular interactions that allow cells to respond to diverse cues from their environment.

Cell-signaling networks involve many distinct steps and are also greatly influenced by the complex, three-dimensional shapes of cells and subcellular components, making them difficult to simulate with existing tools. SMART offers a solution to this problem, which could help accelerate research in fields across the life sciences, such as systems biology, pharmacology and biomedical engineering.

The researchers successfully tested the new software in biological systems at several different scales, from cell signaling in response to adhesive cues, to calcium release events in subcellular regions of neurons and cardiac muscle cells, to the production of ATP (the energy currency in cells) within a detailed representation of a single mitochondrion.

“Engineering” sleeping consciousness could reduce nightmares, treat insomnia—and even be induce specific dreams just for fun.

By Michelle Carr edited by Mark Fischetti

I routinely control my own dreams. During a recent episode, in my dream laboratory, my experience went like this: I was asleep on a twin mattress in the dark lab room, wrapped in a cozy duvet and a blanket of silence. But I felt like I was awake. The sensation of being watched hung over me. Experimenters two rooms over peered at me through an infrared camera mounted on the wall. Electrodes on my scalp sent them signals about my brain waves. I opened my eyes—at least I thought I did—and sighed. Little specks of pink dust hovered in front of me. I examined them curiously. “Oh,” I then thought, realizing I was asleep, “this is a dream.”

People with breathing problems during sleep may have a larger hippocampus, the area of the brain responsible for memory and thinking, according to a study published in the December 18, 2024, online issue of Neurology.

The study, which included mostly Latino people, also found that those with lower oxygen levels during sleep had changes in the deep parts of the brain, the white matter, a common finding of decreased brain health that develops with age.

Sleep disordered breathing is a range of conditions that cause abnormal breathing during sleep, including snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is when a person stops breathing five or more times per hour. When breathing stops, it can lower oxygen levels, affecting the brain.