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Researchers have shown for the first time how children can inherit a severe – potentially fatal – mitochondrial disease from a healthy mother. ̽»¨Ö±²¥study, led by researchers from the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit at the ̽»¨Ö±²¥ of Cambridge, reveals that healthy people harbour mutations in their mitochondrial DNA and explains how cases of severe mitochondrial disease can appear unexpectedly in previously unaffected families.

Recent advances in brain imaging have enabled scientists to show for the first time that a key protein which causes nerve cell death spreads throughout the brain in Alzheimer’s disease – and hence that blocking its spread may prevent the disease from taking hold.

̽»¨Ö±²¥theory that education protects against Alzheimer’s disease has been given further weight by new research from the ̽»¨Ö±²¥ of Cambridge, funded by the European Union. ̽»¨Ö±²¥study is published today in ̽»¨Ö±²¥BMJ.

Our immune systems are meant to keep us healthy, but sometimes they turn their fire on us, with devastating results. Immunotherapies can help defend against this ‘friendly fire’ – and even weaponise it in our defence.

A team of scientists who a few years ago identified a major pathway that leads to brain cell death in mice, have now found two drugs that block the pathway and prevent neurodegeneration. ̽»¨Ö±²¥drugs caused minimal side effects in the mice and one is already licensed for use in humans, so is ready for clinical trials.

Brain imaging can reveal a great deal about who we are and what is going inside our heads. But how far can – and should – this research take us? Julia Gottwald and Barbara Sahakian, authors of Sex, Lies, and Brain Scans: How fMRI Reveals What Really Goes on in our Minds, investigate for ̽»¨Ö±²¥Conversation.

Our personality may be shaped by how our brain works, but in fact the shape of our brain can itself provide surprising clues about how we behave – and our risk of developing mental health disorders – suggests a study published today.

Joe Herbert, Emeritus Professor of Neuroscience, explores what we mean by 'gender identity' and asks whether we should insist on an equal gender distribution across occupations and activities.

A new suite of laboratories aimed at improving outcomes for patients with brain injuries and brain tumours opens today at the ̽»¨Ö±²¥ of Cambridge.

Craniectomy – a surgical procedure in which part of the skull is removed to relieve brain swelling – significantly reduces the risk of death following traumatic brain injury, an international study led by the ̽»¨Ö±²¥ of Cambridge has found.