Knight Initiative News

Exploring the electrical connections between cancer and brain cells, Wu Tsai Neuro affiliate Michelle Monje is bringing hope to children with brain tumors.

In this episode, we explore the fascinating neuroscience behind how children learn to read with Bruce McCandliss, director of the Stanford Educational Neuroscience Initiative.

Stanford researchers reviewed over 400 therapy evaluations and discovered a crucial mismatch: Mouse studies test disease prevention, while human trials test treatment of existing disease.

In a new study in rats, scientists used ultrasound-activated nanoparticles to deliver ketamine and anesthetics to precise targets in the brain.

In a recent study, scientists successfully decoded not only the words people tried to say but the words they merely imagined saying.

Knight Initiative researchers used a new lab model of aging human neurons to show that as cells age, lysosomes fall into disrepair and waste builds up—feeding a damaging cycle that could lead to Alzheimer’s.

Stanford Medicine scientists have developed a brain-computer interface that “reads” thoughts from speech-impaired patients — but only on their command — potentially restoring rapid communication.

Stanford Medicine researchers explain how sleep influences our moods and the ‘bidirectional’ nature of that relationship — plus how we can repair broken slumber to improve our mental health.

Blood and cerebrospinal fluid markers tied to inflammation and metabolism sort some patients into subgroups, according to Knight Initiative researchers, a step toward predicting progression and tailoring care.

In which neuroscientist Dan Abrams shares the quest to understand how our brains are tuned for voices, and why this instinct fails to develop in children with autism.

The technique, which used genetically healthy donor cells, prolonged life and function in mice with a disease similar to Tay-Sachs. It may help with other neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Stanford Medicine researchers discuss the brain’s ancient wiring and how its built-in reward-seeking system can be hijacked by addiction—as well as ways to prevent and treat it.

The lab’s second crop of pilot awards will foster research in visual attention, the neurophysiology of exercise, and therapies for autism and mild cognitive impairment associated with aging.

Andreasson received the Inge Grundke-Iqbal Award for her work on restoring cognition in Alzheimer's. Karly Cody, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Knight Initiative researcher Elizabeth Mormino, was also honored.

Stanford neuroscientist Sergiu Pasca is pioneering technology to recreate human brain tissue and neural circuits in the lab – giving scientists unprecedented access to human brain development and opening new possibilities for treating disorders from psychiatric disease to chronic pain.

Crossover episode in which Nicholas Weiler & Michael Osborne discuss the life of cosmologist Stephen Hawking

New tools that reveal how neuron-specific waves travel through the brains of mice in real time hold promise for understanding diseases such as epilepsy and Alzheimer’s, and open avenues for advances in neuroscience and AI.

The Global Neurodegeneration Proteomics Consortium gathered a trove of data on potential signs of neurological disease—and researchers including Knight Initiative director Tony Wyss-Coray are already using it to make new discoveries.

Is your brain aging faster than your chronological age? New research shows it could raise your risk of death and dementia significantly—and offers promise for early intervention.

An interdisciplinary team of Wu Tsai Neuro scientists working on balls of human neurons called organoids wanted to scale up their efforts and take on important new questions. The solution was all around them.