Laboratory Equipment

Researchers Get Closer to ‘That Itches,’ Not ‘That Hurts’

Johns Hopkins researchers have uncovered strong evidence that mice have a specific set of nerve cells that signal itch but not pain, a finding that may settle a decades-long debate about these sensations, and, if confirmed in humans, help in developing treatments for chronic itch, including itch caused by life-saving medications.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/01/researchers-get-closer-itches-not-hurts

Fly Research Explains Humans’ Most Mysterious Physical Sense

Stroke the soft body of a newborn fruit fly larva ever-so-gently with a freshly plucked eyelash, and it will respond to the tickle by altering its movement — an observation that has helped scientists at the Univ. of California, San Francisco (UCSF) uncover the molecular basis of gentle touch, one of the most fundamental but least well understood of humans’ senses.

Our ability to sense gentle touch is known to develop early and to remain ever-present in our lives, from the first loving caresses our mothers lavish on us as newborns to the fading tingle we feel as our lives slip away. But until now, scientists have not known exactly how humans and other organisms perceive such sensations.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2012/12/fly-research-explains-humans%E2%80%99-most-mysterious-physical-sense

Human Stem Cells Restore Gerbils’ Hearing

For the first time, scientists have improved hearing in deaf animals by using human embryonic stem cells, an encouraging step for someday treating people with certain hearing disorders. “It’s a dynamite study (and) a significant leap forward,” says one expert familiar with the work, Lawrence Lustig of the Univ. of California, San Francisco.

The experiment involved an uncommon form of deafness, one that affects fewer than 1 percent to perhaps 15 percent of hearing-impaired people. And the treatment wouldn’t necessarily apply to all cases of that disorder. Scientists hope the approach can be expanded to help with more common forms of deafness. But in any case, it will be years before human patients might benefit.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2012/09/human-stem-cells-restore-gerbils-hearing

Nerves Control Squids’ Electric Skin

Squid’s colorful, changeable skin enables the animal—and their close relatives, cuttlefish and octopus—to display extraordinary camouflage, the speed and diversity of which is unmatched in the animal kingdom. But how squid control their skin’s iridescence, or light-reflecting property, which is responsible for the animal’s sparkly rainbow of color, has been unknown.

In a new study, Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) researchers Paloma Gonzalez Bellido and Trevor Wardill and their colleagues report that nerves in squid skin control the animal’s spectrum of shimmering hues — from red to blue — as well as their speed of change. The work marks the first time neural control of iridescence in an invertebrate species has been demonstrated.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/videos/2012/08/nerves-control-squids%E2%80%99-electric-skin

Nerve Stimulation in Brain May Treat Stroke, Autism

UT Dallas researchers recently demonstrated how nerve stimulation paired with specific experiences, such as movements or sounds, can reorganize the brain. This technology could lead to new treatments for stroke, tinnitus, autism and other disorders.

In a related paper, UT Dallas neuroscientists showed that they could alter the speed at which the brain works in laboratory animals by pairing stimulation of the vagus nerve with fast or slow sounds.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news-Nerve-Stimulation-in-Brain-May-Treat-Stroke-Autism-072012.aspx

Nerve Cell Transplant Diminishes Chronic Pain

Chronic pain, by definition, is difficult to manage, but a new study by UCSF scientists shows how a cell therapy might one day be used not only to quell some common types of persistent and difficult-to-treat pain, but also to cure the conditions that give rise to them.

The researchers, working with mice, focused on treating chronic pain that arises from nerve injury — so-called neuropathic pain. In their study, published in Neuron, the scientists transplanted immature embryonic nerve cells that arise in the brain during development and used them to make up for a loss of function of specific neurons in the spinal cord that normally dampen pain signals.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news-Cell-Transplant-Could-Treat-Chronic-Pain-052412.aspx

Method May Restore, Repair Severely Damaged Nerves

Engineers at the Univ. of Sheffield have developed a method of assisting nerves damaged by traumatic accidents to repair naturally, which could improve the chances of restoring sensation and movement in injured limbs.

In a collaborative study with Laser Zentrum Hannover (Germany) published in the journal Biofabrication, the team describes a new method for making medical devices called nerve guidance conduits or NGCs. The method is based on laser direct writing, which enables the fabrication of complex structures from computer files via the use of CAD/CAM (computer aided design/manufacturing), and has allowed the research team to manufacture NGCs with designs that are far more advanced than previously possible.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news-Method-May-Restore-Repair-Severely-Damaged-Nerves-042412.aspx

Snail Venom Could be Used as Pain Killer

Components of the venom from marine cone snails can block the transmission of signals between nerve cells in minute quantities. This makes them potentially suitable for use as a novel analgesic. Researchers from the Universities of Bonn and Jena, the Technical Univ. of Darmstadt and the Leibniz Institute for Age Research in Jena have now identified the structure and action of various forms of µ-PIIIA conotoxin. They presented their results in the journal “Angewandte Chemie.” An online version of this publication is already available.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news-Snail-Venom-Could-be-Used-as-Pain-Killer-040512.aspx

Nerve Cell Growth Key to Artificial Brain

Researchers from Chalmers Univ. of Technology and the Univ. of Gothenburg have shown that nanocellulose stimulates the formation of neural networks. This is the first step toward creating a 3D model of the brain. Such a model could elevate brain research to totally new levels, with regard to Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, for example. Over a period of two years the research group has been trying to get human nerve cells to grow on nanocellulose.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news-Key-to-Nerve-Growth-Could-Aid-Researches-Build-3D-Model-032012.aspx

Image of the Day: Cells Inside Living Mouse Brain

Max Planck scientists have for the first time made finest details of nerve cells in the brain of a living mouse visible. To explore the most intricate structures of the brain in order to decipher how it functions – Stefan Hell’s team of researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen has made a significant step closer to this goal. Using the STED microscopy developed by Hell, the scientists have, for the first time, managed to record detailed live images inside the brain of a living mouse. Captured in the previously impossible resolution of less than 70 nanometers, these images have made the minute structures visible which allow nerve cells to communicate with each other. This application of STED microscopy opens up numerous new possibilities for neuroscientists to decode fundamental processes in the brain.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news-Images-Captured-Inside-Living-Mouse-Brain-020712.aspx