Category Health/Medical

In some people, the brain protein tau collects into toxic tangles that damage brain cells and contribute to diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found a drug that can lower tau levels and prevent some neurological damage. In neurons that contain the drug (above, in red) there are no tau tangles (in green). Credit: Sarah DeVos

Appears to reverse some neurological harm. Under ordinary circumstances, the protein tau contributes to the normal, healthy functioning of brain neurons. In some people, though, it collects into toxic tangles that damage brain cells. Such tangles are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. But researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St...

MIT chemical engineers have developed arrays of carbon nanotube sensors that can detect single protein molecules as they are secreted from cells. Credit: Courtesy of the researchers

Modified carbon nanotubes could be used to track protein production by individual cells eg tracking viral infection, monitoring cell manufacture of useful proteins, or revealing food contamination. “We hope to use sensor arrays like this to look for the ‘needle in a haystack,'” says Michael Strano, the Carbon P. Dubbs Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT. “These arrays represent the most sensitive molecular sensing platforms that we have available to us technologically. You can functionalize them so you can see the stochastic fluctuations of single molecules binding to them.”

Strano’s lab has previously dev...

New research could lead to ways of enhancing cognitive function to counteract the effects of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia, as well as enhancing memory in healthy people. Credit: © Maxim Pavlov / Fotolia

How does heightened attention improve our mental capacity? This is the question tackled by new research published in the journal Cell Reports, which reveals a chemical signal released across the brain in response to attention demanding or arousing situations. The discoveries indicate how current drugs in the treatment of Alzheimer’s, designed to boost this chemical signal, counter symptoms of dementia. The results could also lead to new ways of enhancing cognitive function to counteract Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia, as well as enhancing memory in healthy people.

The team...

Zebrafish embryos expressing a fluorescent gene after ultraviolet light irradiation.

A researcher has successfully developed a method to accurately manipulate gene expression by light illumination and demonstrated its usability by creating double-headed zebrafish. It has been difficult to freely manipulate the timing and duration of gene expression using existing gene manipulation technologies, which depend on organism’s gene regulating mechanism. In recent years, methods using light to regulate gene expression have been developed, but deemed insufficient to manipulate embryonic 3development. This is due to a time lag of several hours that occurs from light irradiation to the start/cessation of protein production...