News
by Jim Schnabel
Bexarotene’s promising results in mice are not fully replicated; IVIG antibodies fail to impress in a phase 3 clinical trial.
Briefing Paper
by Jim Schnabel
The debate over whether tau’s corruption is a cause or effect of the Alzheimer’s disease process is now all but over. In fact, its corruption seems to be a driver of disease not only in Alzheimer’s, but in more than half a dozen other tau-linked maladies. One of our series of briefing papers.
by StePHEN G. Lisberger, Ph.D.
By all accounts, scientific misconduct over the last decade is on the rise, especially in the area of journal retractions. In neuroscience, our author—both a leading academic and an experienced neuroscience journal editor—believes the field is detecting “only the tip of the fraud iceberg.” His story addresses the nature, detection, and incentives for fraud, and suggests reforms.
News
by Moheb Costandi
Research suggests that non-invasive techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation might enhance sporting performance. This has not been confirmed yet, however, and even if it is, it would probably be considered as unacceptable as taking performance-enhancing drugs.
Report on Progress
Restoration of Sight through Use of Argus II, a Bioelectronic Retinal Implant
by Mark S. Humayun, M.D., Ph.D.
The development of retinal prostheses to generate artificial vision for blind people is a complex, long-term, expensive, and interdisciplinary undertaking. The FDA has approved the first such device and here's how it works. One of our series of Reports on Progress.
Primer
by Carl Sherman
Thanks to a century of memory research, we know a good deal about its operation: what happens in the brain when we store facts, experiences, and skills in memory; what happens when we recall them. One of our series of Primers.
Column
by Guy McKhann, M.D.
The process of developing effective therapies for Alzheimer's disease must be simplified, or else pharmaceutical companies are likely to take their money elsewhere.
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News
by Jim Schnabel
Researchers hope that the ‘5:2 diet’ and other eating-restriction techniques can prevent age-related neurodegeneration and extend the working life of the brain.
News
by Pam Belluck and Benedict Carey
New York Times
Just weeks before the long-awaited publication of a new edition of the so-called bible of mental disorders, the federal government’s most prominent psychiatric expert has said the book suffers from a scientific “lack of validity.” Dr. Thomas R. Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, said his goal was to reshape the direction of psychiatric research to focus on biology, genetics and neuroscience so that scientists can define disorders by their causes, rather than their symptoms. [off-site-link]
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Webcast
Much of what we “know” from neuroscience research is not ready—yet—for use in the courtroom, argued panelists during a forum April 25 in Washington, DC. A webcast from the Neuroscience and Law series, sponsored by the Dana Foundation, AAAS, The MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Law and Neuroscience, and the International Neuroethics Society.
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