A naturally occurring growth factor significantly boosted retention and prevented forgetting of a fear memory when injected into rats’ memory circuitry during time-limited windows when memories become fragile and changeable. In a study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), animals treated with insulin-like growth factor (IGF2) excelled at remembering to avoid a location where they had previously experienced a mild shock [1].
Archives for January 2011
Will You Win or Lose? Getting People Tested for Diabetes
January 28, 2011 | by
Do you respond better to scary messages or those telling you what you’ll gain? This question has concerned health promoters and researchers for many years. A recent study in the UK has shown that the response is related to gender [1]. Men responded better to messages that focus on the negatives or “losses”.
Coalition of Biomedical Researchers Backs Obama on Science
January 26, 2011 | by
In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Barack Obama presented the United States with a vision of a better future through investment in education, infrastructure, and research. The president noted that fifty years ago American innovation played a pivotal role in the nation’s history and today holds promise for addressing the many challenges the country faces. “Maintaining our leadership in research and technology is crucial to America’s success,” he said during his State of the Union address, calling for investments in biomedical research, education, information technology and clean energy technology [1].
Clarian Health Becomes Indiana University Health
January 24, 2011 | by
On Monday, Clarian Health — the second largest health organization in Indiana — officially changed its name to Indiana University Health [1]. The name better identifies the health system’s partnership with Indiana University and the IU School of Medicine, one of the nation’s largest medical schools.
Nerve Stimulation Stops the Ring of Tinnitus in Rats
January 19, 2011 | by
NIH-funded researchers were able to eliminate tinnitus in a group of rats by stimulating a nerve in the neck while simultaneously playing a variety of sound tones over an extended period of time, says a study published today in the advance online publication of the journal Nature [1]. The hallmark of tinnitus is often a persistent ringing in the ears that is annoying for some, debilitating for others, and currently incurable. Similar to pressing a reset button in the brain, this new therapy was found to help retrain the part of the brain that interprets sound so that errant neurons reverted back to their original state and the ringing disappeared. The research was conducted by scientists from the University of Texas at Dallas and MicroTransponder Inc., in Dallas.
