Articles about 'Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience (PDN)'

Study reveals brain mechanisms underlying irrational decision-making

They juggled their jobs and sacrificed sleep to volunteer at the Cambridge Testing Centre, a collaboration between the University, AstraZeneca and GSK to support the national effort to boost COVID-19 testing. They say they were simply fulfilling their duty as scientists. Meet the volunteers behind the masks.

Genes that are thought to play a role in how the SARS-CoV-2 virus infects our cells have been found to be active in embryos as early as during the second week of pregnancy, say scientists at the University of Cambridge and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

Changes occur in the placenta in older pregnant mothers leading to a greater likelihood of poor health in their male offspring, a study in rats has shown. 

Sir Peter Ratcliffe, who studied Medicine at the University of Cambridge in 1972, has been jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability.

Exercise immediately prior to and during pregnancy restores key tissues in the body, making them better able to manage blood sugar levels and lowering the risk of long term health problems, suggests new research carried out in mice.

Dr Cecilia Brassett is the University Clinical Anatomist and a Fellow of Magdalene College. Here, she tells us about teaching anatomy, which has been taking place at Cambridge for more than 300 years. 

A new study in marmoset monkeys suggests that individual variation in genes alters our ability to regulate emotions, providing new insights that could help in the development of personalised therapies to tackle anxiety and depression.

Scientists have identified mechanisms in the human brain that could help explain the phenomenon of the ‘Uncanny Valley’ – the unsettling feeling we get from robots and virtual agents that are too human-like. They have also shown that some people respond more adversely to human-like agents than others.

Scientists have identified special types of brain cells that may allow us to simulate the decision-making processes of others, thereby reconstructing their state of mind and predicting their intentions. Dysfunction in these ‘simulation neurons’ may help explain difficulties with social interactions in conditions such as autism and social anxiety.