New algorithm helps decipher complex biological data to advance neurodevelopmental research

A new machine learning algorithm developed at UW-Madison is helping researchers untangle a complex puzzle: the molecular mechanisms behind developmental disabilities and neurodegenerative diseases. COSIME, created by the lab of Waisman investigator Daifeng Wang, PhD, associate professor of biostatistics and medical informatics, and computer sciences, offers a powerful new way to integrate and interpret multiple types of biological data which can give scientists a clearer view of how different cellular clues come together to shape disease outcomes.

New study shows nuanced and complex relationship between tau and brain cell loss in Alzheimer’s Disease

At a Glance Loss of synapses, the connections between neurons that allow them to communicate, is a primary driver of cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers expected a strong connection between synapse loss and tau …

Neurodegeneration research at the Waisman Center from gene to organelle to cell to brain

Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, and retinitis pigmentosa all have different manifestations and affect different body functions, but they are all connected by one mechanism: neurodegeneration.

Scientists produce human norepinephrine neurons from stem cells, with significant implications for researching diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s

Researchers a have identified a protein key to the development of a type of brain cell believed to play a role in disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases and used the discovery to grow the neurons from stem cells for the first time.