Study Preserves Memory in mice, offering promising new basis for Active Immunization against Alzheimer’s disease

During experiments in animal models, researchers at the University of Kansas have discovered a possible new approach to immunization against Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Their method uses a recombinant methionine (Met)-rich protein derived from corn that was then oxidized in vitro to produce the antigen: methionine sulfoxide (MetO)-rich protein. This antigen, when injected to the body, goads the immune system into producing antibodies against the MetO component of beta-amyloid, a protein that is toxic to brain cells and seen as a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. The findings have been just published in the peer-reviewed open-access journal Antioxidants.

“As we age, we have more oxidative stress, and then beta-amyloid and other proteins accumulate and become oxidized and aggregated ...

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Wi-Fi may be coming soon to a Lamppost near you

NIST communications researchers traveled to downtown Boulder, Colorado, to verify their channel model for evaluating high-frequency wireless network designs. Sung Yun Jun is checking the alignment of the transmitter, mounted 6 meters high on a mast, with the receiver antenna array on the roof of the blue van. Derek Caudill, barely visible inside the van, is preparing software programs to collect measurement data. Justin Sadinski, in a yellow vest, is checking equipment on the masts. Credit: NIST

As Wi-Fi is deployed more widely in cities, and perhaps at higher frequencies, it may depend on an abundant urban asset: streetlight poles.

To help ensure these networks work well, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed and verified a novel mo...

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Spinning Stars shed new light on Strange Signal coming from Galactic Center

Researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) have found an alternative explanation for a mysterious gamma-ray signal coming from the centre of the galaxy, which was long claimed as a signature of dark matter.

Gamma-rays are the form of electromagnetic radiation with the shortest wavelength and highest energy.

Co-author of the study Associate Professor Roland Crocker said this particular gamma-ray signal — known as the Galactic Centre Excess — may actually come from a specific type of rapidly-rotating neutron star, the super-dense stellar remnants of some stars much more massive than our sun.

The Galactic Centre Excess is an unexpected concentration of gamma-rays emerging from the centre of our galaxy that has long puzzled astronomers.

“Our work does not throw ...

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‘Resetting’ the Injured Brain Offers Clues for Concussion Treatment

About 85% of traumatic brain injuries are similar to the type of concussion examined in this study, involving dispersed impact to the head.
Illustration: Getty Images

In mice, ‘turning over’ cells reverses cognitive, behavior problems. New research in mice raises the prospects for development of post-concussion therapies that could ward off cognitive decline and depression, two common conditions among people who have experienced a moderate traumatic brain injury.

The study in mice clarified the role of specific immune cells in the brain that contribute to chronic inflammation. Using a technique called forced cell turnover, researchers eliminated these cells in the injured brains of mice for a week and then let them repopulate for two weeks.

“It’s almost like hitting the reset butt...

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