“This is a paradigm shift,” says Donn Van Deren, PhD, postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, who ...

The roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans is revealing the molecular glitch behind a rare brain disorder. In lissencephaly – Greek for "smooth brain" – the cerebral cortex lacks characteristic convolutions ...

A vanishingly rare genetic glitch in a single enzyme can erase a newborn’s brain cells in a matter of weeks, leaving doctors ...

(Medical Xpress)—The genetic malady known as Fragile X syndrome is the most common cause of inherited autism and intellectual disability. Brain scientists know the gene defect that causes the syndrome ...

A single microscopic change in our DNA can permanently alter how the brain is built, locking in developmental problems that ...

A team has identified a molecular cellular mechanism that is linked to microencephaly, a condition in which a baby's head is much smaller than expected. Nonsense-mediated RNA decay, or NMD, is an ...

Surgeons have successfully performed a first-of-its-kind procedure in utero to treat a potentially fatal genetic defect in the brain. Usually treated after birth, the new procedure could give newborns ...

In a new study, Yale Cancer Center researchers identified a novel genetic defect that prevents brain tumor cells from repairing damaged DNA. They found that the defect is highly sensitive to an ...

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy puts infants at risk of developmental problems and brain damage, but one in 10 US women say they drink while pregnant, US health authorities said Thursday.

In an era intent on unraveling the mysteries of the brain, we are apt to view problems ranging from depression to hyperactivity as signs of defective brain chemistry. However, over-focusing on the ...