neurodegeneration, cell & molecular biology

Conservation of structures and functions between single-celled fungi and human cells allow researchers to probe the brain.

The single-celled fungus allows researchers to study Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS and other brain diseases with unparalleled speed and scale.

Authors of a new review urge researchers to consider how the chromosomal sex of a cell affects experiments in research on neurodegeneration.

This year’s most beautiful illustrations covered topics including the molecular underpinnings of Parkinson’s disease and strategies for tracking marine organisms around the world’s oceans.

New methods of visualizing tissue are presented at the Society for Neuroscience meeting.

In brain samples from people with Alzheimer’s disease, the protein aggregates more strongly bound proteins involved in processing RNA, the same study finds.

New evidence points to a waste-clearing problem in patients’ cells, rather than the accumulation of protein tangles, as the root cause of the neurodegenerative disease.

Contaminants in the atmosphere appear to have harmful effects on neurodevelopment and cognitive function.

Damage to the lysosome, the organelle that removes excess proteins, lipids, and other materials, might be at the root of the disease.

Mutations within the MS4A gene cluster have been linked to changes in protein levels that affect disease risk.

An enzyme of the bacteria Porphyromonas gingivalis has been found in the brains of patients with the disorder, and causes neurodegeneration in mice.

The cancer-related protein BRCA1 is important for learning and memory in mice and is depleted in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, according to a study.

Rodent models of Huntington’s disease show dysfunctional cysteine production, and adding the amino acid to their diets seems to relieve symptoms.  

Protein aggregates in the brains of some people with dementia or motor neuron disease have a surprising origin.

Misfolded α-synuclein proteins promote the spread of Parkinson’s pathology in mouse brains.

Deterioration of long-lived proteins on the surface of neuronal nuclei in the brain could lead to age-related defects in nervous function.