DNA Archives - Knowing Neurons

Nature versus Nurture… Or Both?

April 11, 2023April 10, 2023 Anastasiia Gryshyna cancer, Childhood, DNA, Early Life Adversity, Epigenetics, gene expression, HPA axis, PTSD, stress

By Anastasiia Gryshyna Many of us have heard a common debate between the fields of biology and sociology. Are human traits, behavior, and personality influenced by nature, or by nurture?… Read more

Big Ideas Neuro Primer Neuroscience Technologies

Neuro Primer: Gene Therapy

December 13, 2022December 15, 2022 Justin McMahon Cells, CRISPR, DNA, Gene therapy, genes, proteins, RNA, therapeutics, Treatment, virus

By: Justin McMahon Academic laboratories and biotech companies around the world are racing to develop next-generation therapeutics. At the forefront of this scientific innovation is gene therapy: a medical approach… Read more

Aging Brain Basics Neuro Primer

Neuro Primer: Telomeres

November 29, 2022December 30, 2022 Marta Garo-Pascual Aging, Alzheimer's, Alzheimer’s disease, cell division, Chromosome, DNA, Enzyme, Genetics, Neurodegeneration, Parkinson's, Parkinson's Disease, replication, telomerase, telomeres, Therapy

By Marta Garo-Pascual Telomeres are the “shoelace caps” of linear chromosomes and, as shoelace caps protect shoelaces, telomeres serve a protective role for chromosomes. Barbara McClintock and Hermann Muller described… Read more

Aging Cognition

Is Aging a Curable Disease?

August 9, 2022February 9, 2023 Arielle Hogan Aging, Animal research, anti-aging, cell environment, Cells, Central nervous system, cerebral spinal fluid, circulatory system, Cognitive Decline, CSF transfusion, Disease, DNA, gene expression, Longevity, Methylation, parabiosis, Progenitor Cell, White matter

By Arielle Hogan As you sit here reading this article, your cells are working away in your body performing all the diverse biochemical reactions necessary to keep you going. As… Read more

A Close Up Look Big Ideas Infographics Neuro News Neuroscience Technologies

A Close Up Look 16 – scRNA-seq

July 11, 2022July 11, 2022 Gil Torten cancer, cell count, Disease, DNA, mutation, Protein, RNA, Treatment, tumor

In this new infographic, Gil Torten discusses single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). Read more to find out about what this process looks like and how scRNA-seq can be used in… Read more

Multilingual Spanish

¿Cómo sabemos? El valor de los modelos científicos.

May 14, 2022May 15, 2022 Joel Frohlich Action Potential, DNA, EEG, Hodgkin and Huxley, Math, mathematics, modeling, NASA, planet, theory, Truth

Artículo original: How Do We Know? The Value of Scientific Models Joel Frohlich Traducido por Reyna Ediss, Dalí Jiménez, Mariangelina Martínez, Estefany Ochoa y Keya Vijapure. El mes pasado, los… Read more

Aging Did You Know? Learning and Memory Movement Neuro News

Bite-size Science: Epigenetics help protect the aging brain

June 19, 2017June 30, 2017 Kayleen Schreiber Alzheimer’s disease, Brain, Cortex, DNA, Epigenetics, gene, Genetics, Infographic, Knowing Neurons, Learning, Memory, Nature, Nature Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration, Neuron, Neurons, Neuroscience, Prefrontal Cortex, Receptor, Research, Science

Epigenetics change which genes are active and which are inactive. Research over the past few years has shown that these changes are important for protecting the brain from neurodegeneration and… Read more

Brain Basics Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

The Epigenetic Legacy of Trauma

March 8, 2017June 30, 2017 Eric Harvey Anxiety, depression, DNA, Epigenetics, Genetics, Holocaust, Kristallnacht, Methylation, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, Rachel Yahuda, Trauma

The evening of November 9th, 1938, began with typical fall solemnity for many Jews living across Germany: closing up their shops and businesses, returning home from school, and preparing family… Read more

Did You Know? Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

Copy Number Variants: A Window into Psychiatric Illness

September 21, 2016March 18, 2018 Rachel Jonas ADHD, Autism, Bipolar, Brain, CNV, Copy number variant, Deletion, DNA, gene, Genetics, Genome, LCR, Low copy repeat, Map, mutation, Population, Psychiatric, Schizophrenia, Syndrome

The human genome consists of nearly 25,000 protein-coding genes – and a mutation in just one of these can have dramatic effects on our brains. Remarkably, one tiny change in… Read more

52 Brain Facts

Myth or Fact? When geneticists talk about Manhattan, they don’t mean NYC.

March 28, 2016April 3, 2016 knowingneurons 52 Brain Facts, Biology, Brain, Chromosome, Disease, DNA, gene, Genetics, Manhattan, Method, Neuroscience, Plot, Scatter, Science, Significance, Skyline, SNP, Trait, Value

Big Ideas Brain Basics Did You Know? Neuroscience Technologies Philosophy Popular Articles

How Do We Know? The Value of Scientific Models.

February 24, 2016July 10, 2017 Joel Frohlich Action Potential, DNA, EEG, Hodgkin and Huxley, inverse-source localization, Math, Mathematical, mathematics, Model, modeling, NASA, planet, planet ix, theoretical, theory, Theory of mind, Truth, watson and crick

Last month, astronomers announced the prediction of a new giant planet in our solar system dubbed Planet IX, a genuine ninth planet with ten times the mass of Earth. The… Read more

52 Brain Facts

Myth or Fact? 10% of your genes describe the organization of the brain.

January 18, 2016February 7, 2016 knowingneurons 50%, 52 Brain Facts, 98%, Body, Brain, complex, Development, DNA, genes, Knowing Neurons, Organization

Did You Know? Neuroscience Technologies

CRISPR-Cas9: Targeted Genome Editing

March 18, 2015March 5, 2017 Jooyeun Lee Animal model, Cas9, CRISPR, Disease, Disorder, DNA, Double-stranded break, Editing, Enzyme, gene, genetic, Genome, Infographic, Knock-in, Knock-out, KO, Mutagenesis, mutation, PAM, Replacement, Scissors, Targeted, Technique, Therapeutic

~ Infographic by Jooyeun Lee and Kate Fehlhaber. ~ References: Hsu P. & Feng Zhang (2014). Development and Applications of CRISPR-Cas9 for Genome Engineering, Cell, 157 (6) 1262-1278. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2014.05.010 Fineran… Read more

Did You Know? Interviews SfN 2014

From Stevens to Synapses: A Conversation with Kelsey Martin

October 22, 2014March 5, 2017 Jillian L. Shaw and Synapses, Conversation, DNA, Eric Kandel, gene, Interview, Kelsey C. Martin, Kelsey Martin, Learning, M.D./Ph.D., Memory, Neurons, Peace Corps., Plasticity, SfN14, Synapse, Synapses, The Living Record of Memory: Genes, UCLA

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/173263228″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /] Take your wildest guess. How many neurons make up the human brain? You’re not guessing wild enough if you said anything less than… Read more

Did You Know? Movement Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

(Transneuronal) Attack of the Mutant Huntingtin!

September 17, 2014March 5, 2017 Jillian L. Shaw 2014, Autosomal dominant, Botulinum neurotoxin, CAG, Chorea, Disorder, DNA, gene, Genetics, HD, HTT, Huntingtin, Huntington’s disease, mHTT, Movement, Nature Neuroscience, Trinucleotide repeat disorder

Huntington’s disease (HD) is an incredibly debilitating neurodegenerative disorder. Currently, there is no treatment that effectively reverses the progression of the disease or delays its onset. Huntington’s is a particularly… Read more

Learning and Memory Neuro News Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

The Tenets of Tauists

April 2, 2014March 5, 2017 Jillian L. Shaw 2014, Alzheimer's, Chromatin, degeneration, DNA, Drosophila, Euchromatin, Feany, Frost, Fruit fly, H3K9me2, Heterochromatin, HP1a, Hyperphosphorylated, Nature Neuroscience, Neurotoxicity, Nucleus, Tau, Tau promotes neurodegeneration through global chromatin relaxation, Tauopathy

For the labs working tirelessly to understand the underpinnings of Alzheimer’s disease, there are often two camps: BAPtists and tau-ists. … Read more

Brain Basics Did You Know?

Your Brain on Epigenetics

June 13, 2013March 5, 2017 knowingneurons 5hmC, 5mC, CpG, DNA, Epigenetics, genes, Genetics, Gibb, hydroxymethylcytosine, Khare, Methylation, methylcytosine, Mychasiuk, Tice

Scientists have debated the importance of nature vs. nurture for years. For the first time, however, both sides have shaken hands and acknowledged a tie. The burgeoning field of epigenetics… Read more