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Metabolic interactions between multiple cell types are difficult to model using existing approaches. Here we present a workflow that integrates gene expression data, proteomics data and literature-based manual curation to model human metabolism within and between different types of cells. Transport reactions are used to account for the transfer of metabolites between models of different cell types via the interstitial fluid. We apply the method to create models of brain energy metabolism that recapitulate metabolic interactions between astrocytes and various neuron types relevant to Alzheimer's disease. Analysis of the models identifies genes and pathways that may explain observed experimental phenomena, including the differential effects of the disease on cell types and regions of the brain. Constraint-based modeling can thus contribute to the study and analysis of multicellular metabolic processes in the human tissue microenvironment and provide detailed mechanistic insight into high-throughput data analysis.

"Our current study demonstrates that the timing of information coming into a memory circuit - specifically, CA1 hippocampus - is critical for optimal encoding of new information," he continues. "When similar patterns of information are separated by at least an hour - a typical classroom session - there is a dramatically enhanced encoding of this info. The key challenge to realizing this discovery was actually linking electrical properties of the circuit, which is done by physiological recordings, to physical, morphological and anatomical properties of the circuit, which is done by high-resolution imaging of synapses before and after stimulation."

Teachers have long known that one-on-one tutoring is effective, but in 1984, the education scholar Benjamin Bloom figured out precisely how effective it is. He conducted a metastudy of research on students who'd been pulled out of class and given individual instruction. What Bloom found is that students given one-on-one attention reliably perform two standard deviations better than their peers who stay in a regular classroom. How much of an improvement is that? Enough that a student in the middle of the pack will vault into the 98th percentile. Bloom's findings caused a stir in education, but ultimately they didn't significantly change the basic structure of the classroom. One-on-one instruction, after all, is insanely expensive. What country can afford one teacher per student?

The growing acceptance of Neuro plasticity lets us see the brain as a resource we can continually develop. This talk describes a programme designed to help us address limitations of our own brain and even take our skills to exceptional levels Barbara Arrowsmith-Young tells the inspiring story of how she overcame her severe learning difficulties with specific brain exercises she developed herself. We also hear the moving accounts of two Australians who've taken a leaf out of her book.  They've found the hard work has paid off.

Inside the mouth of every child is a terrifying double row of teeth. Not that you'd ever know it - muscle, skin and bone prevent most of us from ever catching a glimpse of this extra dentition. Here's your chance to get a close-up look at what lies beyond the gum line.

The Special Issue on Mind Uploading (Vol. 4, issue 1, June 2012) of the International Journal of Machine Consciousness, just released, "constitutes a significant milestone in the history of mind uploading research: the first-ever collection of scientific and philosophical papers on the theme of mind uploading," as Ben Goertzel and Matthew Ikle' note in the Introduction to this issue.

As an undergraduate student majoring in chemistry and biochemistry, I spent a lot of money on science textbooks. When classes ended, I kept all of my books instead of selling them back for pennies on the dollar. I thought that I would be able to use those books as references in graduate school and beyond. Sadly, I never cracked open most of them again, and now they're too outdated to sell. 

According to the "RNA world" model of life's origin, RNA performed all of the operations that are essential to life. RNA alone passed on genetic information and catalyzed the reactions of basic metabolism; DNA and proteins were not in the picture. The RNA world hypothesis is an appealingly simple model for simple early life forms, since it allows the complex array of biochemical interactions among proteins, DNA, and RNA to evolve gradually.

Eat right and exercise is about as basic as medical advice gets. Follow it, and you'll benefit from better overall fitness, improved quality of life, and a reduced risk for chronic conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes. The American Cancer Society now says the evidence has piled up that diet and exercise can help cancer survivors manage, beat, and stay free of their disease, too. "There's just been an explosion of research in this area that gives us the confidence that these things matter," Colleen Doyle, director of nutrition and physical activity for ACS, tells Shots.

It turns out your brain is organized even if you're not. At least that's the conclusion of a study in Science that looked at the network of fibers that carry signals from one part of the brain to another. Researchers used cutting-edge imaging technology to look at places where these fibers intersect. And they found a remarkably organized three-dimensional grid, says Van Wedeen of Harvard Medical School, the study's lead author. The grid is a bit like Manhattan, Wedeen says, "with streets running in two dimensions and then the elevators in the buildings in the third dimension."

Sleep, or lack of it, can determine level of cognitive performance which is linked with accidents as well as increased risk of serious health problems. Links between cell energy levels, gene transcription and sleep rhythms may uncover answers to sleep disorders and the ill-effects of sleep deprivation.

An overgrowth of bacteria in the gut has been definitively linked to Irritable Bowel Syndrome in the results of a new Cedars-Sinai study which used cultures from the small intestine. This is the first study to use this "gold standard" method of connecting bacteria to the cause of the disease that affects an estimated 30 million people in the United States.

Using this 3D body suit, they are able to shoot 3D motion capture right out of the lab. More details about this suit - known as MVN BIOMECH from Xsens, this 3D human kinematic, camera-less measurement system will come integrated with small tracking sensors that are placed on the joints. All the sensors on the suit will comprise of a trio of components: an accelerometer, magnetometers and a gyroscope, working in tandem to deliver information on each of the joints, body segments between the joints and the 3D movements. Currently, a project is being developed to see how nurses are able to lift patients safely into a hospital bed without having to strain themselves.

A new project has created the first complete computational model of an actual organism. And this breakthrough represents a significant step forward in the field of artificial life - and the promise of developing entirely new organisms.

Our bodies need about two litres of fluids per day, not two litres of water specifically. In an Editorial in the June issue of Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, Spero Tsindos from La Trobe University, examined why we consume so much water.

"The cause of hypertension in insomniacs is due to the number of times the individual wakes during the night as well as their sleep latency - the length of time it takes to accomplish the transition from full wakefulness to sleep," says Christopher Drake, associate scientist at the Henry Ford Hospital Sleep Disorders and Research Center and lead author of this study.

Habitually sleeping less than six hours a night significantly increases the risk of stroke symptoms among middle-age to older adults who are of normal weight and at low risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to a study of 5,666 people followed for up to three years.

The health battles of millions, recorded digitally, open a world of virtual research. The antidepressant Paxil was approved for sale in 1992, the cholesterol-lowering drug Pravachol in 1996. Company studies proved that each drug, on its own, works and is safe. But what about when they are taken together? By mining tens of thousands of electronic patient records, researchers at Stanford University quickly discovered an unexpected answer: people who take both drugs have higher blood glucose levels. The effect was even greater in diabetics, for whom excess blood sugar is a health danger. 

When working with remote employees, managers often don't have the luxury of relying on visual cues to tell if an employee is truly understanding instructions or feedback. The blank stare, the quizzical look, the phony nod of understanding - all of these staple non-verbal indicators of, "I don't get it" (or, "I'm not paying attention") are usually unavailable when working in a virtual environment.

A fscinating look into the nature of change and life. I'd consider this a version of evolution but at the scale of an individual and its life instead of a species.