Orr lab named first-ever Bruker Spatial Biology Center of Excellence

Orr lab ribbon cutting as the first-ever Bruker Spatial Biology Center of Excellence

This designation recognizes Miranda Orr, PhD, associate professor of Neurology, and her team as global leaders in spatial biology, providing access to pre-commercial technologies and close partnership with Bruker Spatial Biology to advance the next generation of discovery.

How Your Brain’s Nightly Cleanse Keeps It Healthy (Links to an external site)

Illustration of person sleeping under the stars

You can see it coming in right there, that little spot,” says neuroscientist and engineer Laura Lewis. A remarkably bright pulsing dot has appeared on the monitor in front of us. We are watching, in real time, the brain activity of a graduate student named Nick, who is having an afternoon nap inside an imaging […]

New method more accurately assesses movement disorder in children (Links to an external site)

Bhooma Aravamuthan in an exam room with a young patient

Cerebral palsy affects around one in 345 children in the U.S., and more than half of them experience a problem called dystonia — involuntary and often painful muscle contractions, most commonly in the legs, that lead to abnormal movement and postures and make regular activities such as walking difficult. Traditionally, doctors have relied on subjective […]

Changing ‘body clock’ in early Alzheimer’s (Links to an external site)

Person in lab coat holds clock with DNA strand through middle

Alzheimer’s disease scientists at Washington University in St. Louis researching early clues that the disease may be developing recently pinpointed one: changes or disturbances in circadian rhythm, or “body clock.”  Their recent study found that circadian rhythm changes which cause disrupted sleep can occur as many as 20 years before Alzheimer’s symptoms begin … and well […]

Blood plasma reveals shared pathways in neurodegenerative diseases (Links to an external site)

Carlos Cruchaga

Scientists know that many proteins and pathways are involved in the development and progression of neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and that these proteins can be detected in the plasma of people with the conditions. But it hasn’t been clear exactly which proteins are distinct to one disease […]

AI-based brain-mapping software receives FDA market authorization (Links to an external site)

Eric Leuthardt, MD

A new AI-based technology that rapidly maps the brain to locate sensitive areas that control speech, vision, movement and other critical functions has received authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), enabling it to be marketed to hospitals with the aim of enhancing the precision of neurosurgeries. The technology was developed by researchers and […]