ScienceDaily: Top Health News

Neuroscientists have demonstrated in new research that dopamine plays a key role in how songbirds learn complex new sounds.

Researchers are developing a new, noninvasive brain stimulation technique to treat neurological disorders, including pain, traumatic brain injury (TBI), epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and more.

Researchers found that the main gene that causes Rett syndrome, MeCP2, controls the differentiation pattern of neural stem cells through the microRNA miR-199a. Dysfunction in MeCP2 or miR-199a cause neural stem cells to produce more astrocytes than neurons. Furthermore, the researchers found that miR-199a mediates the production of Smad1, a downstream transcription factor of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling.

Researchers have screened thousands of drug and chemical molecules and identified a range of potential antivirals that could be developed into new treatments for COVID-19 or in preparation for future coronavirus outbreaks.