A stroke occurs when an artery in the brain becomes blocked or bursts. The brain cells beyond the blockage or bleed are deprived of oxygen and nutrients, so are damaged or die.

Scientists have been trying to find ways to minimize the damage following a stroke and speed up recovery.

Now, a study led by scientists from Weill Cornell Medicine has found changes in gene activity in small blood vessels following a stroke. The findings suggest that these changes could be targeted with existing or future drugs to mitigate brain injury or improve stroke recovery.

Here’s how biology creates electronics.

Organoids aren’t nearly as complex as their full-sized counterparts, but they’re useful for research — scientists can study organ development, monitor disease progression, and even test new treatments on them.

What’s new: When human embryos are about five weeks old, they develop structures called “optic cups” that will eventually become retinas.

Researchers have grown optic cups in the lab before, and they’ve also grown mini brains. Now, researchers at University Hospital Düsseldorf have grown brain organoids with optic cups.

Summary: Brain areas that control movement are plugged into networks that orchestrate thinking and planning, and control involuntary bodily functions. The findings provide a link between the body and the “mind” in the brain’s structure.

Source: WUSTL

Calm body, calm mind, say the practitioners of mindfulness. A new study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicates that the idea that the body and mind are inextricably intertwined is more than just an abstraction.