Lifeboat Foundation

Maintenance of mRNA and protein localization in motor neurons is a potential therapeutic avenue for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), report researchers from The Francis Crick Institute and the University College London (UCL). A new study shows how the extensive changes in mRNA and protein in ALS motor neurons are linked to mutations in an ATPase called VCP. These mutations may contribute to the mislocalization of RNA binding proteins (RBPs) that tend to clump together and the redistribution of the mRNAs they are bound to. Inhibition of VCP partly restored mRNA and protein localization and other ALS phenotypes. These results show how RBP mislocalization and mRNA redistribution in motor neurons are linked to ALS and how VCP inhibition could be used as a treatment.

The study “Nucleocytoplasmic mRNA redistribution accompanies RNA binding protein mislocalization in ALS motor neurons and is restored by VCP ATPase inhibition” was published today in Neuron.

“For the patients I see, it’s devastating that there aren’t yet impactful treatments available for ALS,” said Rickie Patani, PhD, senior group leader of the Human Stem Cells and Neurodegeneration Laboratory at the Crick, professor at UCL, and consultant neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology. “This research represents a shift in our thinking about what causes ALS—it doesn’t involve abnormal movement of just a few proteins, but the abnormal localization of hundreds of proteins and mRNAs. This opens new avenues for research and potential therapies.

With new off-the-shelf allogeneic options and armoring approaches, developers hope to target solid tumors more safely and efficaciously.

Id like to see gemini and minerva both merged into Bard, but is google so they ll screw it up no matter what they do.

Sergey Brin has become increasingly involved in Google’s AI efforts, particularly its work on AI model Gemini, as it aims to keep pace with rivals.

I expect this to double over at least 2 maybe 3 times between now and 2030. AND, we here need to back it at every step if we really want indefinite life extension. Time to pick a side is right now.

The arrival of artificial intelligence into healthcare means everyone could one day have a doctor in their pocket, but Google’s chief health officer has urged caution about what AI can do and what its limits should be.

“There’s going to be an opportunity for people to have even better access to services, [and] to great quality services,” Dr Karen DeSalvo told Guardian Australia in an interview last week.

Continue reading “Dr Google? AI could be doctor in the pocket, but company’s health officer urges caution about its limits” »

It’s said the way to one’s heart is through the stomach, but it looks like the way to a healthy brain is by dropping a deuce regularly. According to new research presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Amsterdam this week, chronic constipation appears to be linked to worsening cognitive abilities, likely due to an imbalance of gut bacteria causing inflammation.

While the study has yet to be peer-reviewed, it emphasizes a link between cognition and the microbiome — microorganisms like bacteria, viruses, and fungi living rent-free in and on our bodies — that hasn’t gone unnoticed. There’s still a whole lot we don’t know about the microbiome, but what we do know suggests these microscopic houseguests can be manipulated to improve our own health.

To offset cognitive decline, it could be as simple as a daily probiotic, says Mashael Aljumaah, a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) and North Carolina State University. In findings presented Monday at the American Society for Nutrition in Boston, Aljumaah and her colleagues at UNC and Kent State University in Ohio found that for older adults, a daily probiotic containing gut-friendly Lactobacillus rhamnosus helped improve mild cognitive impairment by resetting the imbalance in gut bacteria.

The OpenAI CEO’s ambitious, ingenious, terrifying quest to create a new form of intelligence.

By Ross Andersen

Researchers have transplanted cells capable of forming specialized brain support cells into mice brains and found that they not only competed with and replaced unhealthy cells but aged ones, too. The findings open the door to developing an effective treatment for a range of conditions like multiple sclerosis, ALS, Alzheimer’s disease, autism and schizophrenia.

‘Glial cells’ is an umbrella term for the cells that are a support system to nerve cells (neurons). Progenitor cells are descendants of stem cells that can differentiate into specific cell types, and, in the case of glial cells, human glial progenitor cells (hGPCs) differentiate into subtypes, including astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, specialized for particular functions.

Astrocytes comprise most of our central nervous system cells, providing support and protection for neurons, transporting nutrients and removing waste. Oligodendrocytes lay down and maintain the lipid-rich, insulating wrapping called myelin around some axons, the part of the neuron that connects with another neuron and allows the transmission of nerve impulses.

This video, which is a part of the Distinguished Lecture Series by Trivedi School of Biosciences, Ashoka University, Prof. Jack W. Szostak discusses why life began with RNA. Why was Ribose sugar chosen in the primordial soup, and not several other alternative sugars that may have been available? He shows this using elegant experiments that include chemistry and structural biology.

Distinguished Speaker: Prof. Jack W. Szostak.
2009 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine.

Continue reading “Distinguished Lecture Series | Why life began with RNA | Trivedi School of Biosciences” »

The Large Hadron Collider yields a five-quark particle that includes a ‘strange’ quark, as predicted by theory.