The most common genetic cause of the brain diseases frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a mutation in the C9orf72 gene. Researchers from VIB and UAntwerp, headed by Prof. Christine Van Broeckhoven, have demonstrated that if an affected parent passes on this mutation, the children will be affected at a younger age (than the parent). There are no indications that the disease progresses more quickly. These results are published today in the international scientific journal JAMA Neurology.

The newly developed RNAi agent suppressed chronic inflammation in the retinas of diabetic mice. The number of leukocytes (arrows) in the inflamed vasculature was significantly reduced in the RNAi-treated retina (right) comparing to the control experiment (left). (Kanda A. et al., Molecular Therapy: Nucleic Acid, January 12, 2017)

Scientists have developed a new RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutic agent that safely blocked ocular inflammation in mice, potentially making it a new treatment for human uveitis and diabetic retinopathy. Inflammation plays a central role in vision-threatening eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. More commonly, it causes uveitis, or inflammation of the uvea, the pigmented middle layer of the eye. Uveitis causes redness, pain and blurred vision, requiring urgent treatment to prevent complications, including blindness.

Graphene electronic structure represented by the Dirac cone. Using the metaphor of a sandglass- shaped cocktail glass, the differences in the electronic structures are shown as filling of the glass by a liquid made of electrons. Applying negative voltage is equivalent to drinking, and positive voltage to filling the glass with more liquid (=electrons). The Fermi level is the maximum level where you can find electrons, while the slimmest part of the sandglass is called Dirac point. (Graphics were modified from Freepiks)

Graphene's unusual electronic structure enables this extraordinary material to break many records of strength, electricity and heat conduction. Physicists at the Center for Theoretical Physics of Complex Systems (PCS), in collaboration with the Research Institute for Standards and Science (KRISS), used a model to explain the electronic structure of graphene measured by a new spectroscopic platform. These techniques, published in the journal Nano Letters, could promote future research on stable and accurate quantum measurements for new 2D electronics.

Professor Kjetil Taskén is the head of Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway. He is standing next to a robot that can check different cancer drugs on tissue samles from patients. Photo: Bjarne Roesjoe/UiO

The aim is to identify precisely the one drug, or the correct combination of drugs, that are most effective against the specific tumor present in each patient. Professor hopes that new tools will come into use in the next five years. Modern cancer therapy is like searching two hay stacks simultaneously: for the one, special treatment amongst many – to treat one, special tumor out of many.

Nagoya University-led research identifies role for neuronal protein interaction in preventing frontotemporal lobar degeneration, a dementia that starts in middle age. Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is a type of dementia characterized by personality changes, language dysfunction, and abnormal behavior. It has an earlier onset than Alzheimer’s disease, and is associated with a buildup of the tau protein in affected nerve cells (neurons).

Scientists can predict in the lab whether a drug will be effective for individual colorectal tumors

Colorectal carcinomas arise in different forms, so all treatments do not work for all patients. OncoTrack, a public-private consortium supported by the Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking, has conducted one of Europe’s largest collaborative academic-industry research projects to develop and assess novel approaches for identification of new markers for colon cancer.

Stando ai dati raccolti dalla sonda MESSENGER i depositi d'acqua ghiacciata nascosti nelle profondità dei crateri di Mercurio proverrebbero dalle comete nate nella cintura di Kuiper. Il liquido si sarebbe solidificato con le basse temperature raggiungendo uno spessore di 50 metri

The USCGC Polar Star escorts a tanker through the sea ice of McMurdo Sound.

Port call holds promise of assisting U.S. Antarctic Program cargo operations

New Zealand has granted the United States permission for a U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker, the USCGC Polar Star, to visit the port of Lyttelton later this month. The icebreaker will make the port call on its way to its home port of Seattle after completing a resupply mission supporting the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP), which is managed by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The U.S. embassy in Wellington announced the port call earlier this week.

A traveller who resorts to using antibiotics will pick up the most resistant strains of common “super bacteria”, proves a recent study.

Every year, millions of travellers visit countries with poor hygiene, and approximately one third of them return home carrying antibiotic-resistant ESBL intestinal bacteria. Most of them remain unaware of this, as the bacteria cause no symptoms. High-risk areas for contracting ESBL bacteria are South and South-East Asia, Africa and Latin America. Diarrhoea is the most common health complaint for people who travel to poor regions of the world. Those contracting diarrhoea have an increased risk of ESBL acquisition, and if they choose to treat it with antibiotics, the risk becomes multiplied. A Finnish study led by Professor Anu Kantele and published two years ago showed that among people travelling to high-risk areas, those contracting diarrhoea and taking antibiotics, up to 80% brought ESBL super bacteria home with them.

BCF_Diester_Ampel_im_Gehirn_(Michael_Veit)

Research group offers new insights into the roles of different subareas in the prefrontal cortex

Whether the brain responds to an external stimulus or not depends significantly on the balance between areas of excitation and inhibition in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Synaptic connections in the front of the cerebral cortex enable the brain to make a conscious decision on whether to react to a stimulus with movement or not. However, the roles of the individual regions in the PFC and how they work together in this decision-making process were unknown until now. An international team led by Stefanie Hardung from the research group of Professor Ilka Diester, a member of Bernstein Center Freiburg and the Cluster of Excellence BrainLinks-BrainTools, has now identified the roles five subareas in the prefrontal cortex play in making decisions on movement. Their results were now published in the journal Current Biology.. This study may be of particular significance for the further investigation of impulse control disorders.