Knight Initiative News

A blood-test analysis developed at Stanford Medicine can determine the “biological ages” of 11 separate organ systems in individuals’ bodies and predict the health consequences.

Research in mice indicates that inhibiting the LRRK2 enzyme could stabilize patients with a type of Parkinson’s disease.

Scientists in the lab of chemical engineer Monther Abu-Remaileh are uncovering the cellular functions that go awry in degenerative brain disorders and identifying therapies that could treat them.

A decade ago, three generations of Stanford scientists banded together to publish a landmark study on one of the brain’s most prevalent structures. Today, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute researchers are discovering that myelin is key to just about every aspect of neurological health.

Cancer treatment with a cell-based immunotherapy causes mild cognitive impairment, according to research by Wu Tsai Neuro affiliate Michelle Monje and colleagues. They also identified compounds that could treat it.

Improving cells’ ability to sort and recycle components—including cholesterol—could lead to therapies for a wide range of neurodegenerative conditions.

This week on the podcast, Stanford cell biologist Brad Zuchero takes us on a tour of the frontiers of glia-science

A new analysis of a vaccination program in Wales by a Knight Initiative–supported team found that the shingles vaccine appeared to lower new dementia diagnoses by 20% — more than any other known intervention.

Knight Initiative–supported research by Pascal Geldsetzer and colleagues adds to evidence that preventing the viral infection can help stave off cognitive decline.

New Alzheimer's biomarkers focus on whether Alzheimer's has actually begun to affect a person's thinking and memory, rather than just amyloid levels.

This week on the podcast, Stanford psychiatry professor Erin Gibson joins us again to share the latest findings on sleep, myelin, and neurodegenerative disease.

Stanford researchers have created a compound that relieves multiple types of pain in mice without building tolerance or causing psychoactive side effects.

New findings about the sugary armor on the brain’s frontline cells could shed light on cognitive decline and diseases like Alzheimer’s—and open new avenues for treatment.

 

Alice Ting and colleagues have built a new synthetic receptor with  broad potential to program cell activity, including immune response and neurological signaling.

Fat-filled microglia may play a role in the damage caused by Alzheimer’s, especially for those who carry two copies a particular gene.

With Knight Initiative support, Stanford researchers uncover a biochemical “off-ramp” in ketosis, rewriting our understanding of how ketosis influences metabolism.

Today, we are going back into the archives for a conversation with neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and best-selling author David Eagleman about the science of synesthesia. If you don't know what that is, you're about to find out.

This week, we talk with our founding director, Bill Newsome, about the 10-year legacy of the NIH BRAIN Initiative and the uncertainty for the future brought on by this year's dramatic funding cuts.

Supported by the Big Ideas in Neuroscience program, research from the Brunet lab suggests the possibility of designing pharmaceutical or genetic therapies to turn on new neuron production in old or injured brains.

Stanford undergraduates and local community college students showcased their summer research projects at the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, highlighting efforts to introduce students to neuroscience research for the first time.