Human endogenous retroviruses that colonized vertebrate DNA millions of years ago have long been dismissed as junk DNA, but researchers now know that they may play important roles in cancer, neurodegeneration, and other ailments.

Clinical trials that target human endogenous retroviruses to treat multiple sclerosis, ALS, and other ailments are underway, but many questions remain about how these sequences may disrupt our biology.

Identifying the molecular interactions that occur all over the body during exercise could reveal how it affects learning and memory.

As researchers unravel the molecular machinery that links exercise and cognition, working out is emerging as a promising neurotherapy.

A proposed definition of the disease emphasizes signs of neurodegeneration and the presence of β-amyloid and tau, rather than cognitive symptoms.

The elimination of these glia in the mouse brain ameliorated the development of Parkinsonian neuropathologies induced by the pesticide toxin paraquat.  

The gene-editing tool was effective in disabling a defective gene responsible for some forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. 

Upping a gene’s expression in rat brains made them better learners and normalized the activity of hundreds of other genes to resemble the brains of younger animals.