Ye Lab News

LSI researchers have demonstrated how an extra copy of a gene that is triplicated in human Down syndrome patients contributes to neuronal dysfunction in mice. 

A team from the LSI has developed a new software tool to help researchers across the life sciences more efficiently analyze animal behaviors. The open-source software capitalizes on artificial intelligence to identify, categorize and count defined behaviors across various animal model systems.

As we marked our first “Panniversary,” LSI professor and research associate dean Bing Ye reflected on how the institute has navigated a year of reduced research efforts, and the potential long-term impacts — both good and bad — on the scientific enterprise.

Researchers have uncovered a neural network that enables Drosophila melanogaster to convert external stimuli of varying intensities into a “yes or no” decision about when to act.

When scientists discover a new phenomenon, they often get to name it. For researchers who study the model system Drosophila melanogaster, or fruit flies, that means participating in a long tradition that is a hallmark of the field’s culture.

Researchers at the LSI are creating a legion of fruit flies to advance our understanding of Down syndrome, thanks to funding from the Klatskin-Sutker Discovery Fund.

Research sheds new light on long-lasting changes that painful stimuli can exert at the level of a neural circuit — changes that can have a powerful impact on behavior.

A class of FDA-approved cancer drugs may be able to prevent problems with brain cell development associated with disorders including Down syndrome and Fragile X syndrome.

Researchers at U-M have shown that the specific connection of sensory neurons to the correct targets in the central nervous system in fruit flies is dependent on how active the neurons are.

U-M researchers have determined how a gene that is known to be defective in Down syndrome is regulated and how its dysregulation may lead to neurological defects, providing insights into potential therapeutic approaches to an aspect of the syndrome.

LSI reseachers have evidence that a single gene controls both halves of nerve cells, and their research demonstrates the need to consider that design in the development of new treatments for regeneration of nerve cells.