A new study published inThe Journal of Physiology has shown that misfolded protein build-up in the gut could contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s-like symptoms in mice. This could suggest a new treatment approach for Alzheimer’s disease that would target the gut before symptoms of cognitive deficits appear in patients.

As these proteins were found in the gut, which is a window to the world, this suggests environmental factors might be contributing to cognitive deficits seen in Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions.

The misfolded protein, known to be involved in Alzheimer’s disease, called beta amyloid, was injected into the guts of mice and travelled to the “gut-brain" (the nervous system in our gut),and alsoto the brain.

If some of the beta amyloid build up in thecentral nervous system (brain and spinal cord)isoriginatingfrom theoutside the brain(peripheral nervous system), reducing the amount that makes it to the brain, or trapping the protein in theperiphery may delay the onset ofAlzheimer’s disease. This treatment would begin before any signs of dementia appear in the patient.

Anopheles daciae. Photo: Lorna Culverwell

During collections for a study to map the distribution of mosquito species in Finland, Anopheles daciae, a species previously not known to occur in Finland was found from several locations in the south of the country. As this species is very closely related to known malaria vectors, it is assumed to also be capable of transmitting malaria.

Anopheles daciae, which was only described as a species in 2004, belongs to the Anopheles maculipennis complex – a group of visually identical but distinct species from which three species have previously been found in Finland. The species in this complex may be identical in appearance, but the differences can be seen when DNA is sequenced.

Anopheles messeae, another species included in the complex, is the primary mosquito species responsible for transmitting malaria in Europe. It is assumed that this species was also responsible for transmitting malaria until the 1950’s, when malaria declined in Finland.

Researchers from Osaka University identify the proteins Tet2 and Tet3 as key regulators of B cell activity and autoimmunity

Osaka, Japan – Our immune system is supposed to protect us from external microbial invaders, but sometimes it turns its efforts inward, potentially resulting in autoimmune diseases. In a new study, researchers from Osaka University discovered how reversible modifications to our DNA by certain proteins protect us from autoimmune diseases and, conversely, how the absence of these proteins paves the way to autoimmunity.

DNA contains all information that cells in our body need to function by providing specific codes to produce specific proteins. Nonetheless, not all parts of DNA are accessible in all cells at all times. The regulated production of proteins ensures that different cells and organs can be developed from the same DNA code. An important regulatory mechanism is the reversible addition (methylation) or removal (demethylation) of chemical bonds, so-called methyl groups, to segments of DNA. This modifies the readout of said DNA segment. Proteins of the ten-eleven translocation (Tet) family are known DNA demethylases that decrease the production of certain proteins in immune cells. How Tet proteins play into the development of autoimmune diseases has remained unknown—until now.

International collaboration provides important piece of COVID-19 puzzle

A new study from researchers at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) and Erasmus University Medical Center (Erasmus MC) shows that even the sickest COVID-19 patients produce T cells that help fight the virus. The study offers further evidence that a COVID-19 vaccine will need to elicit T cells to work alongside antibodies.

The research, published June 26, 2020 in Science Immunology, also reveals that both Dutch and American patients have similar responses to the virus. "This is key to understanding how the immune response fights the virus," says LJI Professor Alessandro Sette, Dr. Biol. Sci., who co-led the study with Erasmus MC Virologist Rory de Vries, Ph.D. "You want vaccine approaches to be grounded in observations from rather diverse settings to ensure that the results are generally applicable."

Commissario per l’ambiente e per l’oceano Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissario europeo per la salute e la sicurezza alimentare Stella Kyriakides, Commissione europea, Consiglio europeo

Petizione

Facciamo appello a te per riuscire ad impedire la liberazione negli ecosistemi di organismi creati attraverso il gene drive e per ottenere una moratoria globale contro la liberazione di questi organismi in occasione della Conferenza delle parti (COP) della Convenzione sulla diversità biologica dell’ONU (CBD).

Perché è importante?

Immagina ora delle zanzare geneticamente modificate e progettate per fare aumentare la frequenza dei geni a un ritmo velocissimo, mettendo a repentaglio la catena alimentare e rischiando di sterminare gli esemplari naturali rendendoli infertili.[1]

Secondo diversi scienziati, esiste il rischio che questa tecnica del gene drive potrebbe perfino espandersi, passando dalle zanzare alle farfalle, uccidendo in massa gli impollinatori, mettendo a rischio raccolti, piante e interi ecosistemi.[2]

Microbiome in Antarctic marine invertebrate may hold key to anticancer compound

Could the cure for melanoma -- the most dangerous type of skin cancer -- be a compound derived from a marine invertebrate that lives at the bottom of the ocean? National Science Foundation-funded scientists led by Alison Murray of the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada, think so. They're looking to the microbiome of an Antarctic ascidian called Synoicum adareanum to better understand the possibilities for development of a melanoma-specific drug.

A new study published inThe Journal of Physiology has shown that misfolded protein build-up in the gut could contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s-like symptoms in mice. This could suggest a new treatment approach for Alzheimer’s disease that would target the gut before symptoms of cognitive deficits appear in patients.

As these proteins were found in the gut, which is a window to the world, this suggests environmental factors might be contributing to cognitive deficits seen in Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions.

The misfolded protein, known to be involved in Alzheimer’s disease, called beta amyloid, was injected into the guts of mice and travelled to the “gut-brain" (the nervous system in our gut),and alsoto the brain.

If some of the beta amyloid build up in thecentral nervous system (brain and spinal cord)isoriginatingfrom theoutside the brain(peripheral nervous system), reducing the amount that makes it to the brain, or trapping the protein in theperiphery may delay the onset ofAlzheimer’s disease. This treatment would begin before any signs of dementia appear in the patient.

Non solo Oceani, dove la plastica è presente nel 70% al 90% dei rifiuti in mare: la firma ‘indelebile’ di questo materiale, che ci accompagna massivamente dagli anni ’50, è stata trovata persino nelle rocce come elemento stratigrafico distintivo di un’epoca geologica che ormai viene definita Antropocene.
Lo denuncia il WWF nella seconda puntata del suo report “Plastica-una storia infinita”, lanciata nell’ambito della campagna GenerAzioneMare e che marcherà settimanalmente questo argomento anche con eventi di pulizia sul territorio.

Nel report si segnala un recente studio[1] che dimostra come i processi geologici abbiano iniziato a incorporare in rocce litoranee la plastica finita in mare: la presenza della plastica è evidente nei depositi terrestri, e sta diventando tale anche nei depositi sedimentari marini sia di acque profonde che poco profonde. Lo studio ci dice quindi che la plastica è ormai diventata un ‘tecnofossile’ ed è destinata a restare negli strati geologici al pari di ciò che oggi osserviamo nei sedimenti come testimonianza delle ere passate, dalle ammoniti ai resti di mammut.

Un nuovo studio internazionale coordinato dal Dipartimento di Medicina molecolare della Sapienza e sostenuto anche da Fondazione AIRC, ha fatto luce sullo spettro dei tumori che insorgono negli uomini con mutazioni nei geni BRCA1 e BRCA2. I risultati sono stati pubblicati sulla rivista JAMA Oncology.

Le mutazioni nei geni BRCA1 e BRCA2 rappresentano un rilevante esempio di medicina di genere, pur essendo ereditate in ugual misura dai due sessi. Il loro ruolo nella suscettibilità alle forme ereditarie di neoplasie prettamente femminili, come tumori della mammella e dell’ovaio, è ben conosciuto ed è entrato di routine nella pratica clinica; al contrario, l’impatto sul rischio oncologico delle stesse mutazioni nei soggetti di sesso maschile è meno noto.