'Zombie' genes? Research shows some genes come to life in the brain after death

The plasticisers contained in many everyday objects can impair important brain functions in humans. Biologists from the University of Bayreuth warn of this danger in an article in Communications Biology. Their study shows that even small amounts of the plasticisers bisphenol A and bisphenol S disrupt the transmission of signals between nerve cells in the brains of fish. The researchers consider it very likely that similar interference can also occur in the brains of adult humans. They therefore call for the rapid development of alternative plasticisers that do not pose a risk to the central nervous system.

New research shows that people who experience big dips in blood sugar levels, several hours after eating, end up feeling hungrier and consuming hundreds more calories during the day than others.

Image: A dense-core amyloid-beta plaque (red) surrounded by microglia that lack TAM receptors (white) in the brain of a mouse with Alzheimer’s disease.

Image Credit: Salk Institute

Salk scientists find brain’s immune cells form some plaques as a defense in Alzheimer’s, suggesting a new therapeutic direction.

Machine learning methods help to optimise the development of antibody drugs. This leads to active substances with improved properties, also with regard to tolerability in the body.

Antibodies are not only produced by our immune cells to fight viruses and other pathogens in the body. For a few decades now, medicine has also been using antibodies produced by biotechnology as drugs. This is because antibodies are extremely good at binding specifically to molecular structures according to the lock-​and-key principle. Their use ranges from oncology to the treatment of autoimmune diseases and neurodegenerative conditions.