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The Porcine Solution to Organ Transplants
Transplantation is essential for end-state organ failures such as kidneys, heart, lungs, and liver. With currently 110,000 individuals in the US on the waitlist for an organ donation, the shortage of organ donors severely limits the success of transplantations.1 Many individuals die before transplantation, and quality of life is severely diminished for individuals with organ…
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Fluidity of Brain States: Unihemispheric Sleep and Its Ties to Consciousness
Unihemispheric sleep is a unique behavior in which half of an animal’s brain is awake while the other half is asleep.
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X-Linked Genetic Deviations Give Rise to Neural Developmental Disorders
People describe DNA in many ways. Bill Gates has likened it to a computer program, though it far surpasses the complexity of any man-made software. Another depicts DNA as its own language, telling the story of life itself.
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Illuminating Parkinson’s Disease with STORM Microscopy
The chemical messenger of a neuron, a neurotransmitter, is only 0.5-5 nanometers in size. They don’t look like much, but these miniscule molecules are responsible for a cascade of signals that lead to a neuron firing in the brain. However, visualizing such small structures is no easy feat.
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Life of the Happy Hormone
While dopamine is best known as the chemical responsible for the satisfying feeling from rewards like ice cream, it is also critical for the function of many parts of the brain, from mood to motion.