Knight Initiative News

Research news Blight or Benefit: How Cellular Neighbors Shape the Aging Brain

Researchers at Stanford’s Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience merge spatial transcriptomics and AI to uncover how local cellular interactions drive brain aging and resilience

Dec 19 2024

Brain resilience
Discovery science

Research news Blight or Benefit: How Cellular Neighbors Shape the Aging Brain

Researchers at Stanford’s Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience merge spatial transcriptomics and AI to uncover how local cellular interactions drive brain aging and resilience
Dec 19 2024

Brain resilience

Discovery science
Nature Synthetic GPCRs for programmable sensing and control of cell behaviour

Kalogriopoulos NA, Tei R, Yan Y, Klein PM, Ravalin M, Cai B, Soltesz I, Li Y, Ting A.
Dec 4 2024
Washington Post Inside your body, aging unfolds at remarkably different rates

New research shows aging is not a uniform process. Parts of our bodies start aging earlier than others, right down to our organs and cells.
Nov 25 2024
Research news Unlocking the secrets of ketosis

With Knight Initiative support, Stanford researchers uncover a biochemical “off-ramp” in ketosis, rewriting our understanding of how ketosis influences metabolism.
Nov 12 2024

Molecules and cells

Brain function

Clinical / translational research
cell A β-hydroxybutyrate shunt pathway generates anti-obesity ketone metabolites

Moya-Garzon MD, Wang M, Li VL, Lyu X, Wei W, Tung AS, Raun SH, Zhao M, Coassolo L, Islam H, Oliveira B, Dai Y, Spaas J, Delgado-Gonzalez A, Donoso K, Alvarez-Buylla A, Franco-Montalban F, Letian A, Ward CP, Liu L, Svensson KJ, Goldberg EL, Gardner CD, Little JP, Banik SM, Xu Y, Long JZ.
Nov 4 2024
biorxiv Thalamic integration of basal ganglia and cerebellar circuits during motor learning

Roth RH, Muniak MA, Huang CJ, Hwang FJ, Sun Y, Min C, Mao T, Ding JB.
Nov 1 2024
biorxiv In-Situ Structure and Topography of AMPA Receptor Scaffolding Complexes Visualized by CryoET

Held RG, Liang J, Esquivies L, Khan YA, Wang C, Azubel M, Brunger AT.
Oct 22 2024
biorxiv Cell-Type Resolved Protein Atlas of Brain Lysosomes Identifies SLC45A1-Associated Disease as a Lysosomal Disorder

Ghoochani A, Heiby JC, Rawat ES, Medoh UN, Di Fraia D, Dong W, Gastou M, Nyame K, Laqtom NN, Gomez-Ospina N, Ori A, Abu-Remaileh M.
Oct 15 2024
Knight Initiative news Advancing Brain Resilience: 2024 Catalyst and Pilot Grant Awards

The Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience supports 14 high-risk, high-reward projects to advance brain health and resilience research, fostering bold research across various scientific disciplines.
Sep 18 2024
Podcast episodes Why new Alzheimer's drugs may not work for patients

This week on From Our Neurons to Yours, we talk with Stanford neurologist Mike Greicius about his critique of new amyloid-clearing Alzheimer's drugs, and his optimism for the next wave of therapies currently in development.
Sep 12 2024

Molecules and cells

Clinical / translational research

Brain aging
biorxiv A secondary β-hydroxybutyrate metabolic pathway linked to energy balance

Moya-Garzon MD, Wang M, Li VL, Lyu X, Wei W, Tung AS, Raun SH, Zhao M, Coassolo L, Islam H, Oliveira B, Dai Y, Spaas J, Delgado-Gonzalez A, Donoso K, Alvarez-Buylla A, Franco-Montalban F, Letian A, Ward C, Liu L, Svensson KJ, Goldberg EL, Gardner CD, Little JP, Banik SM, Xu Y, Long JZ.
Sep 9 2024
NPR This metabolic brain boost revives memory in Alzheimer’s mice

Study in mice, supported by the Knight Initiative, suggests that an experimental cancer drug boosted brain metabolism, restored memory, and improved Alzheimer's symptoms. This novel approach may offer a new way to treat Alzheimer's beyond targeting amyloid plaques.
Sep 2 2024

Brain aging

Clinical / translational research
Neuroscience News Blocking a Brain Pathway Reverses Memory Loss in Alzheimer’s

Blocking the kynurenine pathway, a regulator of brain metabolism, can restore cognitive function in lab mice with Alzheimer’s disease. The pathway is overactivated in Alzheimer’s, disrupting glucose metabolism and starving neurons of energy.
Aug 25 2024
Science Restoring hippocampal glucose metabolism rescues cognition across Alzheimer’s disease pathologies

Minhas PS, Jones JR, Latif-Hernandez A, Sugiura Y, Durairaj AS, Wang Q, Mhatre SD, Uenaka T, Crapser J, Conley T, Ennerfelt H, Jung YJ, Liu L, Prasad P, Jenkins BC, Ay YA, Matrongolo M, Goodman R, Newmeyer T, Heard K, Kang A, Wilson EN, Yang T, Ullian EM, Serrano GE, Beach TG, Wernig M, Rabinowitz JD, Suematsu M, Longo FM, McReynolds MR, Gage FH, Andreasson KI.
Aug 23 2024
Stanford Magazine Why is a common gene variant bad for your brain?

The APOE4 genetic variant, carried by about 20% of people, significantly raises Alzheimer’s risk. But should we boost the gene’s potency or suppress it? A recent discovery by Knight Initiative affiliate, Mike Greicius, may provide the answers we need.
Aug 23 2024
biorxiv Histone deacetylase inhibition expands cellular proteostasis repertoires to enhance neuronal stress resilience

Taylor CA, Maor-Nof M, Metzl-Raz E, Hidalgo A, Yee C, Gitler AD, Shen K.
Aug 22 2024
Research news Drugs that improve brain metabolism could help Alzheimer’s patients

A team of neuroscientists at the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience have zeroed in on a critical regulator of brain metabolism that may be over-activated in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
Aug 22 2024

Brain aging

Molecules and cells

Clinical / translational research
Nature Communications SLC17A1/3 transporters mediate renal excretion of Lac-Phe in mice and humans

Li VL, Xiao S, Schlosser P, Scherer N, Wiggenhorn AL, Spaas J, Tung AS, Karoly ED, Köttgen A, Long JZ.
Aug 12 2024
Nature PTER is a N-acetyltaurine hydrolase that regulates feeding and obesity

Wei W, Lyu X, Markhard AL, Fu S, Mardjuki RE, Cavanagh PE, Zeng X, Rajniak J, Lu N, Xiao S, Zhao M, Moya-Garzon MD, Truong SD, Chou JC, Wat LW, Chidambaranathan-Reghupaty S, Coassolo L, Xu D, Shen F, Huang W, Ramirez CB, Jang C, Li L, Svensson KJ, Fischbach MA, Long JZ.
Aug 7 2024
Research news Q&A: Unlocking the secrets of taurine in obesity control

Groundbreaking research supported by the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience at Stanford’s Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute deepens our understanding of how the amino acid taurine may help reduce appetite and prevent obesity.
Aug 7 2024

Brain function