A pathologic form of prion protein is believed to
cause scrapie, bovine spongiform encephalopathy and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
The normal function of prion protein is yet unknown, but a recent study
by Hans Kretzschmar...
An innovative microscope has been developed which provides scientists with a new window through which to explore the dynamics of molecular order and disorder in living cells and other quasi-liquid systems...
Two recent papers describe the processes involved in
the final stages of apoptotic cell death. During apoptosis, enzymes known as caspases break down cellular proteins, causing severe morphological changes and cell shrinkage...
Researchers trying to study the role of presenilin-1
(PS1) in Alzheimer's pathogenesis have been stymied by the fact that presenilin
knockout mice die before birth...
Scientists often complain that scientific journals
take too long to review manuscripts, and that subscription prices are unaffordable. A new journal devoted to Alzheimer's disease research, Alzheimer's Reports...
A gene on the long arm of chromosome 6 has been linked to
an inherited form of Parkinson’s disease, called autosomal recessive
juvenile parkinsonism (AR-JP)...
(From Nature Biotechnology press release.) Each cell in our bodies contains 46 chromosomes. But one day far in the future, doctors may give us an extra miniature chromosome containing therapeutic genes to treat disease...
Synucleins are small cytoplasmic proteins that are found
in synaptic terminals. They are present in senile plaques and Lewy bodies
(features of Alzheimer's disease and familial Parkinson's disease)...
The brains of Alzheimer's disease victims are peppered with neuritic plaques—microscopic, spherical structures containing, among other
things, deposits of β amyloid peptide, dead and dying neurons and evidence
of inflammation...
An enzyme in <em>Caenorhabditis elegans</em> affects the rate at which the dainty worms age, by modulating the cellular response to oxidative stress...
Acetylcholine has different effects on the excitability of different neuronal types, according to work by Xiang, et al, published in today's Science. The researchers examined two subtypes of interneurons in layer V of rat visual cortex...
Maybe it is time to give up steak in order to live longer—at least if you are a fruit fly. According to a study published today in Science, a diet of sugar keeps flies in a metabolic "waiting mode," in which both reproduction and death rates are low...
Stress and glucocorticoids (hormones produced in response to stress) are known to impair the acquisition and storage of new information. But stress also hinders the ability to recall memories...
It has been theorized that cell membranes contain stable regions consisting of glycolipids and cholesterol. They are called detergent-insoluble glycolipid-enriched membrane domains (DIGs)...