By 2050, as our population ages, 15 million Americans will suffer from Alzheimer's disease-- triple today's number. Researchers at San Francisco's Gladstone Institutes have found that a gene may hold the key to a cure.
The human brain was once a black box, but scientists are finding ways to peer inside and explore some of our most complicated thought processes. Using MRI scanners in innovative ways, Stanford scientists are learning how children's brains process words when they read.
In California today, 37,000 people, mostly children, receive treatment for the most severe form of autism. This is a sevenfold increase from 15 years ago, prompting officials to call the situation a public health crisis. Northern California autism researchers are studying everything from saliva samples to carpet dust in hopes of cracking the mystery.
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Major funding is provided by the National Science Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Foundation, and The Amgen Foundation. Additional support is provided by the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the William K. Bowes, Jr. Foundation, Ann S. Bowers - The Robert Noyce Trust, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, and the Vadasz Family Foundation.
