MOLECULAR GENETICS: Common Genetic Variant Dampens Pain
In a study published online Oct. 22 in Nature Medicine, Clifford Woolf and colleagues identify a biochemical pathway that helps control how animals respond to pain. The pathway changes the levels of neurotransmitter production in cells and, when overactive, may lead to pain hypersensitivity. Further, the researchers reveal a genetic variation in some humans that is associated with lower pain sensitivity and a faster recovery after surgery. It adds to other research in animals showing that differences in the perception of pain may be based at least partly on genetics.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: Personally Controlled Health Records: Are They the Next Big Thing?
The push to create personally controlled health records may be on the brink of going public in the same way that personal computers and the internet did. In fact, the momentum is so great that the effort could be at risk of fragmenting, with companies and institutions producing a dizzying array of personally controlled health records. At a recent conference—organized by (from left) Isaac Kohane, William Crawford, Kenneth Mandl, and colleagues—representatives from government, business, and the health care industry met in an effort to turn the potentially divisive field into a collaborative enterprise.

METABOLIC RESEARCH: Energy-boosting Protein May Ease Neural Oxidative Stress
A molecule better known for turbo-charging muscles and burning fat may protect brains from neurodegeneration, according to two independent studies of mice by HMS researchers. The molecule, PGC-1 alpha, revs up mitochondria, the on-demand cellular energy system. It also turns up enzymes to clean up the toxic emissions of these cellular power plants, report Bruce Spiegelman (left) and his colleagues. Without PGC-1 alpha, mice with Parkinson’s disease and seizures had more severe brain damage; with it, their neurons were protected. Similarly, PGC-1 alpha can worsen or protect brains in mouse models of Huntington’s disease. Here, the mutant huntingtin gene appears to attach to the DNA upstream of the PGC-1 alpha gene and directly interfere with transcription, according to researchers in the lab of Dmitri Krainc (right).