Hiro Furukawa Archives | ��ϳԹ��Դ

Dehydration’s role in learning and memory

Samuel Diamond — Mon, 18 May 2026 11:30:10 +0000

How do we learn to remember? At the most fundamental level, it’s all about chemicals and electricity. Beyond their roles in diet and nutrition, calcium and magnesium work as ions, or charged particles, in the brain. Magnesium can block a channel found within brain receptors known as NMDARs. When the blockade lifts, calcium can pass...

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Immune response to cancer may cause brain disease

Samuel Diamond — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 16:00:01 +0000

Consider two seemingly unrelated medical puzzles. First: Every day, our bodies produce hundreds of billions of new cells, many of which are mutated. If cancer arises from cellular mutation, why don’t we all have the disease all the time? Second: Severe autoimmune conditions like lupus and multiple sclerosis often strike without warning. No one knows...

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Janowitz lab members recognized for early-career research

Nick Wurm — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 14:09:23 +0000

Sam Kleeman and Alice Wang, members of the Janowitz lab at ��ϳԹ��Դ (CSHL), have both been recognized for excellence in early-career research. Kleeman, a clinical fellow, has won a 2026 Emerging-Generation Award from the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI). Wang, a Stony Brook University M.D.-Ph.D. student-in-residence at CSHL, has earned a...

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A doorstop for the brain’s electrical gates

Jennifer Michalowski — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 16:00:04 +0000

Nature, reveals the molecular mechanisms that keep the brain’s NMDA receptors fully or partially open." data-description="Image of NMDA receptors in different positions" />As information zings from cell to cell inside the brain, bursts of electricity spur its transmission. At ��ϳԹ��Դ (CSHL), scientists have turned their attention to the tiny pores that let charged ions enter a cell—and the molecular gatekeepers that help control them. CSHL structural biologist Hiro Furukawa studies NMDA receptors (NMDARs). These...

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Mind-blowing neuroscience research

Communications Department — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 11:30:19 +0000

The brain is the most complex and powerful part of the human body. When things are working as they should, we don’t notice at all. However, any number of conditions can disrupt healthy brain function. ��ϳԹ��Դ (CSHL) neuroscientists focus on understanding how neural connections in the brain translate into behavior. Their research...

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The CSHL School of Biological Sciences’ class of 2025

Communications Department — Mon, 05 May 2025 18:00:58 +0000

The ��ϳԹ��Դ (CSHL) School of Biological Sciences (SBS) takes an innovative approach to advanced science education. Graduates of the doctoral program go on to pursue a wide range of careers. On May 4, the SBS awarded nine graduates Ph.D. degrees. Here, the class of 2025 reflects on their time and experiences at...

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At the Lab: Dancing with fire

Communications Department — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 11:30:50 +0000

It can cause blackouts, memory loss, and hallucinations. It’s typically diagnosed in people in their 20s and considered more common among women than men. It’s not schizophrenia, but it can be misdiagnosed as such. This week At the Lab, CSHL Professor Hiro Furukawa returns to speak about anti-NMDAR encephalitis, an autoimmune disease discovered less than...

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Deciphering brain diseases with click chemistry

Communications Department — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 12:30:53 +0000

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Ketamine: From club drug to antidepressant?

Samuel Diamond — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 16:00:46 +0000

AI generated voice Ketamine has received a Hollywood makeover. It used to be known as a rave drug (street name special K) and cat anesthetic. However, in recent years, some doctors have prescribed ketamine to treat conditions from post-traumatic stress disorder to depression. “The practice is not without controversy,” notes ��ϳԹ��Դ (CSHL)...

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2024 Double Helix Medal recipients Alisa & Daniel Doctoroff

Communications Department — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 12:30:32 +0000

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Putting out a brain on fire

Jen A. Miller — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 11:30:47 +0000

Imagine you wake up in a hospital without a single memory of the last month. Doctors say you had a series of violent episodes and paranoid delusions. You’d become convinced you were suffering from bipolar disorder. Then, after a special test, a neurologist diagnoses you with a rare autoimmune disease called anti-NMDAR encephalitis. This is...

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At the Lab Season 1 Research Rewind: Neuroscience

Communications Department — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 11:30:25 +0000

Trying to remember that one thing that one CSHL scientist said about the brain that one time? Jog your memory and catch up on what you might have missed in our latest Research Rewind. This week At the Lab, you’ll hear all about our innovative neuroscience research from CSHL scientists Arkarup Banerjee, Benjamin Cowley, Hiro...

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This protein does “The Twist”

Luis Sandoval — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 15:00:56 +0000

Proteins are constantly performing a kind of dance. They move and contort their bodies to fulfill specific functions inside our bodies. The NMDAR protein executes an especially hard dance routine in our brains. One wrong step can lead to a range of neurological disorders. NMDAR binds to the neurotransmitter, glutamate, and another compound, glycine. These...

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Hazen Tower

Nick Wurm — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 16:00:40 +0000

very hour on the hour, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., a bell tolls at ��ϳԹ��Դ (CSHL). Whether you’re enjoying a walking tour, attending a Symposium, admiring some campus art, or just going about your day at the lab, Hazen Tower is hard to ignore. Orienting visitors and staff in time and...

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At the Lab Episode 2: Molecular puppetry

Communications Department — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 11:30:36 +0000

It’s easy to think of your brain as your body’s puppet master. This week At the Lab, we speak with CSHL Professor Hiro Furukawa, who studies a part of the brain that actually does work a lot like a puppeteer. Hear how Furukawa figured out the puppet master’s routine. And find out what that might...

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This eight-armed octopus-like pore perceives taste

Jennifer Michalowski — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 11:30:33 +0000

The neurons in our bodies are dotted with tiny pores that let essential molecules pass in and out of our cells. Neurons need these channels to send the signals that allow us to move, think, and perceive the world around us. Now, structural biologists at ��ϳԹ��Դ (CSHL) have captured never-before-seen images of...

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A new look at brain function and psychiatric disorders

Jennifer Michalowski — Wed, 02 Nov 2022 11:30:23 +0000

New images from scientists at ��ϳԹ��Դ (CSHL) reveal for the first time the three-dimensional structures of a set of molecules critical for healthy brain function. The molecules are members of a family of proteins in the brain known as NMDA receptors, which mediate the passage of essential signals between neurons. The detailed...

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Mapping brain disorder therapeutics at work

Communications Department — Fri, 29 Jul 2022 16:00:19 +0000

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Mapping out new routes to treat brain disorders

Daniel Dunaief — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 14:00:01 +0000

��ϳԹ��Դ (CSHL) Professor Hiro Furukawa takes an architectural approach to brain research. He creates structural 3D maps of important proteins that malfunction in brain disorders. Furukawa has zeroed in on a protein called the NMDA (for N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor that plays a key role in learning and memory. The NMDA receptor acts as...

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Picky proteins: A new angle for brain disorder therapeutics

Communications Department — Fri, 20 May 2022 11:30:48 +0000

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Hiro Furukawa Archives | ���ϳԹ���Դ