Magazine Issue - October 2019 | Brain Fog

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October 2019

Features

Air Pollution May Damage People’s Brains

Catherine Offord | Oct 1, 2019

Contaminants in the atmosphere appear to have harmful effects on neurodevelopment and cognitive function.

Is It Time to Rethink Parkinson’s Pathology?

Ashley Yeager | Oct 1, 2019

New evidence points to a waste-clearing problem in patients’ cells, rather than the accumulation of protein tangles, as the root cause of the neurodegenerative disease.

Why Immune Cells Extrude Webs of DNA and Protein

Borko Amulic, Gabriel Sollberger | Oct 1, 2019

Extracellular webs expelled by neutrophils trap invading pathogens, but these newly discovered structures also have ties to autoimmunity and cancer.

Contributors

Meet some of the people featured in the October 2019 issue of The Scientist.

Editorial

The Human Brain: Blessing and Curse

Our brains are mysterious, fragile, and mischievous. That’s what makes them fascinating.

Speaking of Science

Ten Minute Sabbatical

Take a break from the bench to puzzle and peruse.

Freeze Frame

Caught on Camera

Selected Images of the Day from the-scientist.com

Notebook

Time Spent in Nature Is Good for You

Research has repeatedly suggested that spending time in natural environments improves mental and physical well-being. Now, scientists are gathering the data needed to incorporate this phenomenon in health-care guidelines.

When Humans Hear Music, Monkeys May Hear Noise

The auditory cortices of humans and rhesus monkeys respond very differently to harmonic tones.

Genetic Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease Linked to Highly Active Brains

A growing body of evidence supports the theory that neural hyperactivity and hyperconnectivity precede the pathological changes that lead to neurodegeneration.

The Narluga: New Insights from Old Bones

DNA analysis of a bizarre, 30-year-old whale skull serves as a reminder of the secrets that museum specimens keep about the natural world.

Critic at Large

Opinion: Develop Organoids, Not Chimeras, for Transplantation

Scientists are devising human-animal hybrids for harvesting human organs, but lab-derived mini-organs are a less ethically fraught solution to meeting the need for transplantation.

Modus Operandi

Remote Control of Peripheral Nerves

An implantable wireless device with microfluidic and optical components allows manipulation of individual nerve fibers in mice’s extremities.

The Literature

Glowing Proteins Enable Stem Cell Stimulation for Stroke Recovery in Mice

A new method helps neural stem cells form synaptic connections, thereby restoring lost brain function.

Paternal Age Linked to Brain Abnormalities Associated with Autism

Brain scans of autistic and non-autistic men reveal an association between white matter aberrations and the ages of their fathers at the time the sons were born.

Could Brain Activity During Sleep Be a Biomarker for Alzheimer’s?

Changes in brain waves while snoozing correlate with accumulation of tau and amyloid-β, suggesting that the neural activity disruptions could clue doctors in to early development of the disease.

Profile

The Cerebellum’s Secrets: A Profile of Kamran Khodakhah

The Albert Einstein College of Medicine neuroscientist has revealed surprising functions of the brain region, such as its role in the brain’s rewards circuits and in addiction.

Scientist to Watch

Johannes Kohl Untangles the Neural Circuitry Behind Instinct

The Francis Crick Institute neurobiologist aims to learn how physiological states, such as hunger, alter information processing in the brain.

Lab Tools

New Tissue Clearing Methods Offer a Window into the Brain

Researchers are developing a variety of approaches for clearing neural tissue to get a better view of the brain’s circuitry.

Bio Business

Antidepressant Approvals Could Herald New Era in Psychiatric Drugs

The FDA has given the green light to the first major new classes of antidepressant therapies in decades, opening up new avenues for therapeutic development.