Cells behave differently when removed from their environments, just as cells that develop in cultures do not behave like cells in living creatures. To study the effects of Alzheimer’s disease in a more natural environment, scientists from the lab of professor Bart De Strooper (VIB-KU Leuven, Dementia Research Institute-UK) in collaboration with scientists from ULB (profs Pierre Vanderhaeghen and Jean-Pierre Brion) successfully circumscribed this challenge by transplanting human neural cells into mouse brains containing amyloid plaques, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. The results of their research showed that, unlike mouse neurons, human neurons that developed in this environment were extremely susceptible to Alzheimer’s disease. Their high-impact results are published in leading academic journal Neuron.

foto di dj fabo

Il Parlamento continua ad ignorare gli appelli del  Dj cieco e tetraplegico divenuto simbolo di una battaglia coraggiosa e per la libertà di tutti: “Schiavi di uno Stato che ci costringe ad andare all’estero per liberarci da una tortura insopportabile e infinita” E sono tre: terzo rinvio per l’entrata in aula della legge sul Biotestamento, il cui inizio dei lavori alla Camera era atteso prima a fine gennaio, poi il 20 febbraio, poi il 27, e ora è stato spostato ulteriormente ai primi di marzo.

Rappresentazione artistica del sistema formato da Trappist-1 e i suoi sette pianeti rocciosi.

Grazie a un’intensa campagna osservativa, condotta con telescopi terrestri e spaziali, un team internazionale di ricercatori ha scoperto che la stella Trappist-1 ospita almeno sette pianeti, tutti di dimensioni simili alla Terra. I dati mostrano che, potenzialmente, sono tutti e sette in grado di ospitare acqua allo stato liquido. Sale a sette il conto dei pianeti terrestri in orbita attorno a Trappist-1, la nana rossa ad appena 40 anni luce da noi. È passato poco più di un anno dall’annuncio della scoperta di tre pianeti di dimensioni simili alla Terra in orbita attorno a questa stella fredda e di piccola taglia, e oggi, grazie a uno studio condotto con telescopi terrestri e spaziali, scopriamo che la nostra “vicina” di casa ospita un sistema planetario molto più ricco del previsto.

An example of trilobite

Despite a plethora of exceptionally preserved trilobites, trilobite reproduction has remained a mystery. No previously described trilobite has had unambiguous eggs or genitalia preserved. This study by Thomas A. Hegna and colleagues reports the first occurrence of in situ preserved trilobite eggs from the Lorraine Group in upstate New York, USA.

A Biological Psychiatry special issue

In the Biological Psychiatry special issue "Neuroimmune Mechanisms in Autism Spectrum Disorder", guest editor Professor Kimberley McAllister of the University of California, Davis, presents five reviews and three original research articles highlighting advances that are transforming the field of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) research. "ASD is the most rapidly increasing neurodevelopmental disorder and current estimates are alarming," said Dr. McAllister. One in 68 children and 1 in 42 boys in the US are estimated to be on the spectrum. Few treatment options exist, and the search for effective new therapies has been hindered by a struggle to understand what causes ASD. "One of the most exciting recent hypotheses in the field is that immune dysregulation contributes to, and may cause, ASD," Dr. McAllister added. The special issue reports on both environmental factors and genetic mutations that converge on immune dysfunction.

Researh groups from the University of Helsinki, the LMU Munich and the University of Guelph have described in collaboration a novel myoclonic epilepsy in dogs and identified its genetic cause. The study reveals a novel candidate gene for human myoclonic epilepsies, one of the most common forms of epilepsy. As a result, a genetic test was developed for veterinary diagnostics and breeding programs.

A collaborative study describes a novel myoclonic epilepsy syndrome in dogs for the first time and discovers its genetic cause at DIRAS1 gene. The affected dogs developed myoclonic seizures at young age – on average 6 months old - and seizures occur typically at rest. In some of the dogs the seizures could be triggered by light.

A novel principle to mobilize neurons for brain repair

Restorative neuroscience, the study to identify means to replace damaged neurons and recover permanently lost mental or physical abilities, is a rapidly advancing scientific field considering our progressively aging society. Redirecting immature neurons that reside in specific brain areas towards the sites of brain damage is an appealing strategy for the therapy of acute brain injury or stroke. A collaborative effort between the Center for Brain Research of Medical University of Vienna and the National Brain Research Program of Hungary/Semmelweis University in Budapest revealed that some mature neurons are able to reconfigure their local microenvironment such that it becomes conducive for adult-born immature neurons to extensively migrate. Thus, a molecular principle emerges that can allow researchers to best mobilize resident cellular reserves in the adult brain and guide immature neurons to the sites of brain damage.

Il decalogo delle buone maniere

Scienziati in campo per ridurre gli sprechi alimentari. Dalle buone pratiche sotto forma di decalogo alle nuove frontiere della ricerca con tecnologie e metodologie innovative: è la sfida dell’ENEA contro lo spreco alimentare per “sfruttare al meglio quel Giacimento di risorse preziose nascosto nella spazzatura”, come sottolineano gli esperti del Dipartimento Sostenibilità dell’Agenzia. I dati FAO parlano chiaro: in Italia, un anno di spreco alimentare potrebbe sfamare quasi 44 milioni e mezzo di persone. A livello mondiale i numeri sono altrettanto allarmanti: ogni anno più di un terzo della produzione mondiale di cibo si perde o si spreca lungo la filiera, circa 1,3 miliardi di tonnellate di alimenti sprecati solo considerando la frazione commestibile.

La Cina, che come sappiamo è afflitta da enormi problemi di inquinamento, dovuto anche alle sue numerose centrali a carbone, è però, altresì, a livello globale, il maggior investitore nel campo delle energie rinnovabili. Nel tentativo di limitare la produzione di energia da fonti inquinanti e di puntare sulle energie pulite, la Cina ha ora cancellato il piano che prevedeva la costruzione di 103 centrali elettriche a carbone, il che significa tagliare di netto 120 gigawatt di elettricità. Per capire ancora meglio di quali cifre stiamo parlando, basta sapere che negli Stati Uniti d’America la produzione di elettricità dal carbone si attesta intorno ai 305 gigawatt.

Scientists at the John Innes Centre have developed a new line of fast-growing broccoli that can be harvested within 8-10 weeks under glasshouse conditions and doesn’t need a period of cold to trigger the flowering process. This line has the potential to double the amount of crops that can be grown in-field in one season or enable 4 to 5 harvests if grown in protected conditions.

Scientists at the John Innes Centre are developing a new line of fast-growing sprouting broccoli that goes from seed to harvest in 8-10 weeks. It has the potential to deliver two full crops a season in-field or it can be grown all year round in protected conditions, which could help with continuity of supply, as growers would no longer be reliant on seasonal weather conditions. The part of the broccoli plant that we eat is the flower buds. This innovation in crop production builds on the wealth of fundamental research carried out by Professor Dame Caroline Dean and her lab on vernalisation – the need for some plants to experience a period of cold weather before they can flower. The timing of the switch to flowering is critical for a plant’s adaptation to the environment and its resulting yield.  Dr Judith Irwin and her team, working collaboratively with Professor Dean, have focused on translating this knowledge to Brassica crop species.