NIH and Lilly Collaborate, Aim to Make Drug Development Pipelines More Productive

Over the past decade, collaborative research efforts to support the discovery and development of medicines has increased dramatically. Last month, the National Institutes of Health and Eli Lilly and Company announced a new collaboration: they will generate a publicly available resource to profile the effects of thousands of approved and investigational medicines in a variety of advanced disease-relevant testing systems [1]. In-depth knowledge of the biological profiles of these medicines may enable researchers to better predict treatment outcomes, improve drug development, and lead to more specific and effective approaches.

NCATS/Lilly collaboration

MIT Scientists Demonstrate Memories Reside In Neurons

Neuroscientists — scientists who study the brain — have long attempted to understand the nature of memory. Engrams, or complete memories that are encoded in the brain, now appear to be stored physically as opposed to conceptually, according to research published in the journal Nature [1].

Mouse hippocampus

iSonea to Build Mobile Asthma Management Apps on Qualcomm’s Platform

iSonea Limited is an emerging medical technology company developing innovative, non-invasive devices and mobile health apps to improve the management of chronic, costly respiratory disorders such as asthma and COPD. The company has developed proprietary respiratory acoustic technologies that enable the capture, storage and objective analysis of respiratory sounds and without relying on patient assistance.

iSonea

SleepTracker Watch Helps Manage, Improve Sleep

SleepTracker is a wristwatch that promises to improve sleep quality (and outlook on life) by monitoring the wearer’s sleeping patterns. The watch’s alarm wakes the wearer at the best possible time during a user-determined window.

SleepTracker

The Synapse from BrainU

From visiting classrooms for Brain Awareness Week, Dr. Janet Dubinsky from the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota became aware that teachers wanted to learn what neuroscience has uncovered about brain mechanisms of learning and memory. To address this need, the Department of Neuroscience and the Science Museum of Minnesota created BrainU. Her current partner is Dr. Gillian Roerhig from the STEM Education Center.

Launched in 2000, BrainU is a grant-funded professional development program that teaches educators neuroscience principles and effective methodology for teaching neuroscience in the middle to high school classroom. BrainU, the neuroscience teacher institute, provides teachers with up to 160 hours of neuroscience training, materials, and staff support to bring brain science to their students. Participants in these professional workshops receive updates on the latest in neuroscience research — discussion is complemented with hands-on activities and lab work.

The BrainU website provides lesson plans and resources for teachers and some cool stuff, including brain pictures, optical illusions, and movies.

The movie ‘The Synapse’

In the nervous system, the synapse is essential for neuronal function. A synapse is the junction between two nerve cells or neurons, consisting of a minute gap across which impulses pass by diffusion of a neurotransmitter. The movie ‘The Synapse’, used with permission from BrainU, tells an entertaining and informative story of how neurons communicate with each other at synapses, changing information from electrical to chemical and back to electrical signals. Check out their story below (the movie opens in a new window).

The Synapse

Copyright 2000-2012, BrainU, University of Minnesota Department of Neuroscience and Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Supported by a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) from the National Center For Research Resources and the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives of the National Institutes of Health, with additional funding from SEDAPA and ARRA. Its content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of NCRR or NIH.