Now Press Delete Button For Traumatic Memory, New Study Reveals!!

Every one of us goes through some tragedy and emotional trauma in life. One of the recent studies suggest that a scientific breakthrough may help us eradicate such traumatic experiences from our lives at least the scientists involved in the research claim so.

In the study, the scientists have discovered a link between a protein called PKM and our recollection of disturbing events. Their study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, could have profound implications for war veterans, the victims of violent crimes and those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Lead researcher David Glanzman, from the University of California, Los Angeles, said: 'I think we will be able to alter memories someday to reduce the trauma from our brains. 'Not in the immediate future, but I think we will be able to go into one's brain, identify the location of the memory of a traumatic experience and try to dampen it down. 'We can do this in culture, and there is no essential difference between the synapse in culture and the synapse in your brain.'

Another professor named Glanzman, a cellular neuroscientist, along with his team reported that they have eliminated, or at least substantially weakened, a long-term memory in both the marine snail known as Aplysia and neurons in a Petri dish. The researchers stated that they have gained important insights into the cell biology of long-term memory. They discovered that the long-term memory for sensitisation in the marine snail can be erased by inhibiting the activity of PKM, a protein associated with memory. The research may also help in effective treatment of drug addiction, Alzheimer's disease and other long-term memory disorders.

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Interest-free scholarship loans by Sakal Foundation

The Sakal India Foundation, Pune, has decided to offer - on an all-India basis - about 50 interest-free loan scholarships, each worth Rs 40,000, to Indian students proposing to pursue post-graduate studies abroad, or research studies leading to Ph.D in India.

The Foundation, which has marked 50 years of promoting excellence in education, has invited applications from eligible Indian students for the purpose. The loans are to be repaid in two years. In order to be eligible for the loan scholarship, the applicant must have secured admission for a post-graduate degree - in any foreign university - for academic study of not less than one year's duration, for the academic year 2011-2012, or must have a valid registration for doing research - leading to Ph.D in a statutory university, national institute or institution, of equivalent standing in India, two years previous to the date of application, for the interest-free loan scholarship. A scholarship of Rs 10,000 (non-refundable), will also be awarded to a deserving student, for pursuing post-graduate studies in journalism, satisfying the above pre-conditions in India or abroad.

Coming Soon: Newer Generation Antidepressant From Max Planck

Recently, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry (Munich) have carried out studies on the genomes of 4,088 patients and 11,001 healthy control subjects from all over the world. They have identified a new risk gene variant for depression. They were able to show genetic correlation with depression. They demonstrated physiologically measurable changes in the brains of healthy carriers of this risk allele which affected a transporter protein involved in the production of an important neuronal transmitter. Since, traditional drugs interact with similar transporter molecules; the researchers believe this factor as the target structure of future antidepressant medication.

Over the past several years, studies have been carried out to identify the genetic causes of depression. Such a study is also carried out by Martin Kohli, Susanne Lucae, Bertram Müller-Myhsok and Elisabeth Binder. While comparing the genetic material of depressive patients with that of healthy control subjects,the researchers discovered that the individual base exchanges, so-called single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), clearly arose in the context of major depression. The researchers were very disappointed, however, when they had to establish that this section on the chromosome does not contain any genes. "Instead of getting our hands on a 'depression gene', we found ourselves back in a 'genetic desert' so to speak," Florian Holsboer, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry in Munich, explains.

Hence, the scientists wondered whether a gene located further away could possibly be influenced by the genetic variation and whether susceptibility for depression could arise that way. In this case, the SLC6A15 gene was identified as a promising candidate. SLC6A15 is involved in the transportation of amino acids like proline and leucine to the contact sites of neurons in the brain, known as synapses. It may therefore be also involved in the regulation of glutamate which is an important excitatory neurotransmitter found in neurons. Leucine is a structural precursor of glutamate. "Because it is assumed that the communication between the neuron clusters is disturbed in depression, we considered whether the gene we had identified could possibly influence this process through glutamate," explains Elisabeth Binder, research group leader at the MPI.

Subsequently, the Max Planck scientists have succeeded in showing that the changes in the DNA sequence located a total of 287,000 bases away from the gene influenced its activity. Therefore, cells of the risk genotype displayed a lower level of gene activity than cells carrying the protective genotype. Moreover, tests carried out using the magnetic resonance imaging scanner confirmed that even healthy subjects who are carriers of the risk allele have smaller amounts of the brain metabolic substances N-acetylaspartate (NAA) and glutamate (Glx) compared to healthy subjects without genetic susceptibility.

Morphological changes such as shrinking of certain brain regions may also arise in the course of major depression. This can eventually be observed in depressive patients. Therefore, in addition to genetic susceptibility, other factors must affect the organism to trigger the development of major depression. Stress is considered as an important environmental factor in the depression and research on this aspect has been carried out for many years at the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry. It has been found, for example, that the likelihood of developing the disease is raised by a factor of two to three if a person is exposed to chronic social stress.

How Mosquitoes handle Stress? New Research Reveals

Ever Wondered Mosquitoes also get stress while sucking your Blood. Yes that's true there are several ways due to which it may get stressed. Be it the fear of being tightly slapped by a Human hand or handle the hot Blood of Humans.A recent study at The Ohio State University has shown that mosquitoes make proteins which help them handle the stressful spike in body temperature that's prompted by their hot blood meals.

The mosquito's eating pattern is inherently risky:

• Taking a blood meal involves finding warm-blooded hosts,
• avoiding detection, penetrating tough skin and
• evading any host immune response,
• not to mention the slap of a human hand.

Scientists have determined that theinsects protect themselves from the stress of the change in body temperature during and after a meal by producing heat shock proteins. This study was carried out in female insects. These proteins provide protection to the integrity of other proteins and enzymes which help the mosquitoes to digest the blood meal and maintain their ability to produce eggs. Tests in two other types of mosquitoes and in bed bugs showed that these insects undergo a similar response after a blood meal. "These heat shock proteins are really important in a lot of stress responses. Our own bodies make these proteins when we have a fever," said David Denlinger, professor of evolution, ecology and organismal biology at Ohio State University and senior author of the study. "It's one of those things that, in retrospect, seems obvious – that blood meals might cause a stress like that. But it hadn't been pursued before." The research will be appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In the studies, the researchers placed sensors on female mosquitoes and subsequently observed that upon taking in a blood meal on a chicken, the insects' body temperatures increased from 22 to 32 degrees Celsius (71.6 to 89.6 Fahrenheit) within one minute – among the most rapid body temperature increases ever recorded in a cold-blooded animal. However, the body temperature decreased after feeding. In response to that blood feeding, the mosquitoes' level of Hsp70 – heat shockprotein 70 – increased nearly eightfold within one hour and remained at least twice as high as usual for 12 hours. The increase in these proteins was most pronounced in the midgut area.

Stanford University launches First PhD program in stem cell science

29^th April, 2011 has marked a beginning of a new era in stem cell science asStanford University's Faculty Senate approved the creation of the first stem cell science PhD program in the nation and, perhaps, the world.

School officials stated that the university is taking the rare step of creating a new doctoral program and acknowledges the growing importance of stem cell research in biomedical science. The senate's initial approval of the program extends for five years. "Stem cell biology is a distinct discipline that requires unique skills and includes a scope of knowledge and a skill set that is not covered by other disciplines," said Renee Reijo Pera, PhD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and director of the new PhD program. CIRM president Alan Trounson, PhD, said the doctoral program "is unique in its interdisciplinary nature and focus on applying discoveries to treat disease. This program, along with CIRM's training and research support at Stanford, will prepare the next generation of scientists to become leaders in the search for new cures." 

The creation of a doctoral program will also provide a boost to graduate students and accelerate the development of the field itself. "We are establishing an entirely new field that affects both life sciences and medicine," said Irving Weissman, MD, director of the Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine and professor of pathology. "We are doing this in a time of federal cutbacks of support for graduate students, including those doing life sciences in general and those doing medical science training.

Stanford has received $186 million during the past five years — more than any other institution in the state — from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to advance stem cell research. The funds have enabled Stanford to build facilities such as the Lorry I. Lokey Stem Cell Research Building (believed to be the largest building in the nation dedicated to stem cell research), to develop educational outreach and tissue banking capabilities, and to recruit a number of renowned researchers and trainees from whom the new PhD students can learn both the science and ethics of human stem cell research.