In a recent study in The Journal of Neuroscience, UCI neurobiologists led by Professor Susana Cohen-Cory, Neurobiology and Behavior, reported that dietary deficiencies in the type of fatty acids found in fish and other foods can limit brain growth during fetal development and early in life. The findings suggest that women maintain a balanced diet rich in these fatty acids for themselves during pregnancy and for their babies after birth. Read more.


Heading off Concussions 
As a result of ongoing probes into the short- and long-term effects of concussions in football, other sports are looking into whether additional steps can be taken to protect their athletes. Professor James W. Hicks, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Director of UCI’s Exercise Medicine & Sport Sciences Initiative, is leading a novel probe of impact injuries in water polo.  Read more.


Genetic Chain Reaction Sets Off Scientific Debate
Distinguished Professor Anthony A. James, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry and Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, was recently featured in a KPBS news article. Professor James weighed in on how a newfound research will be able to relieve mosquito-borne malaria. James has already discovered ways to make mosquitos incapable of transmitting malaria by altering their genes. The problem is, he can't go around modifying every mosquito in the world by hand. "What we need then is something that would move these genes into field insects, or wild mosquitos," he said. Read more. 


The Best Brain Exercise Might Be Physical
Professor Carl W. Cotman, Neurobiology and Behavior and Neurology, and his team have produced research showing that in older rodents, exercise increases the number of synapses and also stimulates the brain to develop more neurons in the hippocampus, which he calls "a critical region in learning and memory formation and a target of massive decline in Alzheimer's disease." Read more about his study and recent work in the Chicago Tribune article here.