Alzheimer’s drugs might get into the brain faster with new ultrasound tool, study shows

WASHINGTON — Scientists have found a way to help Alzheimer’s drugs seep inside the brain faster — by temporarily breaching its protective shield. The novel experiment was a first attempt in just three patients. But in spots in the brain where the new technology took aim, it enhanced removal of Alzheimer’s trademark brain-clogging plaque, researchers … Read more

Nematode proteins shed light on infertility

A cartoon of paired homologous chromosomes (blue) with the synaptonemal complex (SC, green) assembled between them. Below, from top to bottom, are cartoons depicting the localization of proteins in a normal SC, in the SC of the researcher-bred infertile nematodes, and in the SC of the nematodes with the suppressor-mutation. Credit: Lisa Kursel and Maria … Read more

Enhanced brain delivery of antibodies heightens the potential to treat brain diseases

Synthetic process of PMPC polymers and TmabPMPCs. (A) Synthetic process of thiol-reactive maleimide-modified PMPC. MPC was first polymerized following a RAFT polymerization to obtain Carboxyl-terminated PMPC. Then the end group was converted to an amino group with Ethylenediamine modification, followed by converting the amino group to maleimide group by Sulfo-SMCC to obtain maleimide-modified PMPC. (B) … Read more

SpaceX soars into 2024 with a burst of color and six special satellites

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain The first SpaceX launch of 2024, which took place Tuesday night, included something that none of the company’s prior launches did. The Falcon 9 rocket carried 21 low-orbit satellites for its sister company, Starlink, including six that—for the first time—feature direct-to-cell communications. The satellites are designed to eliminate cellphone service “dead … Read more

SpaceX back with 1st Space Coast launch of the year

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain After a record 2023, SpaceX is not slowing down its launch plans for 2024 with the first launch of the year from Florida slated for Wednesday evening. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying a telecom satellite for private Swedish company Ovzon is slated to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s … Read more

Study uncovers the synchrony connecting kelp forests to the beach

Shorebirds forage in kelp wrack on a beach in California. Credit: Jenny Dugan, UC Santa Barbara The Santa Barbara Channel’s kelp forests and its sandy beaches are intimately connected. Giant kelp, the foundation species of rocky reefs, serves as a major part of the beach food web as fronds of the giant seaweed break away … Read more

Everlasting African wildfires fueled by aerosol feedback

Credit: iScience (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108533 Africa is on fire. It has been for thousands of years. The continent contains more than 50% of the total area on Earth that is burning, on average, and there is no sign of it stopping; indeed, the migrating, hemisphere-hopping African wildfire season is steadily increasing. The fire is essentially … Read more

Researchers improve seed nitrogen content by reducing plant chlorophyll levels

Developmental stage-specific downregulation of chlorophyll using ethanol inducible promoter. (a) Biosynthesis pathway of chlorophyll and the model structure of Mg-chelatase with three subunits (red rectangle). (b) Design of ethanol inducible CHLI sRNA construct. (c) Location of T-DNA (red triangle) in two tobacco mutants (mt1 and mt2). (d) Changes in leaf color phenotype after 100 mL 1% … Read more

Words like ‘sex’ and ‘fight’ are most likely to stand the test of time

The percentage of words preserved in story retelling task by grammatical category. The text label from top to bottom respectively represents the percentages of word preservation, number of word types and number of word tokens in the corresponding grammatical categories. Credit: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2220898120 New research from the … Read more

Globular cluster VVV CL002 is falling down to the galactic center, study finds

Orbit computed for VVV CL002 (black line), overlaid on the probability densities of orbits projected on the galactic plane (left) and height above the plane z versus galactocentric radius (right). Lighter colors indicate more probable regions of space, that are more frequently sampled by the simulated orbits. Credit: arXiv (2023). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2312.16028 Using the Magellan … Read more