Plague may have caused die-offs of ancient siberians

     

     Bruce Bower talks about in his article that a team lead by geneticist Gülšah Merve Kiliniç and Anders Götherström both of Stockholm University extracted DNA from 40 human remains which were found in parts of eastern Siberia. What they also found were two ancient siberians corpses and they found bacterium that causes plague, on these two individuals. Siberians caught palugue from travelers who came to siberia 4.400 years ago and these finding might explain the collapses of the population.  

    It unclear if the plaque actually caused population decline but these sample dates back to 4.500 years ago which correlates with other research that has been done that in that certain period of time, Y. pestis infected people in other parts of Eurasia so its possible Siberians were infected by a version of Y.pestis but it must have been a virulent strain to cause a big decline. Unfortunately the samples of the plague found on the bodies of the two siberians provide little evidence to this theory but I would say its step further in finding what really made the decline of Siberians happen. I think these is important researcher because this provides a glimpse of a series of previously unknown ancient population shifts in this particular region.

Link to picture and also you can find more details of the research through this link

Dental plaque leads to news about Neanderthal diet

Research done by  Laura Weyrich, a microbiologist at the University of Adelaide in Australia, has shown that plaque found in fossilized teeth proves that Neanderthal diets were a wide range of things. DNA was recovered from calcified plaque on teeth from four Neanderthal individuals. Two groups were found, one from the grasslands and one in the forests. The DNA from the individuals around the grasslands proved to eat woolly rhinoceros and wild sheep and the DNA from forests showed to eat moss, mushrooms and pine nuts. This shows that Neanderthals were neither vegetarian or herbivores. Also found in the DNA were materials from trees that act as aspirin. Any information found in fossils is truly amazing. To further our knowledge on the cavemen, helps us understand evolution and how we are today. This article shows that the Neanderthals were very smart, and knew about medicine way before we thought they did. This is a major break through for us. 



Article: https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/science-ticker/ancient-dental-plaque-tells-tales-neandertal-diet-and-disease
Related article: http://www.pnas.org/content/108/2/486.full.pdf

Elderly with Alzheimer’s Pathology Found with Superior Memory

Scientists have been studying elderly patients over 90 years old who have superior memory abilities compared to their peers. After their death, it was discovered that some of them had widespread plaque and tangles in their brain, which are correlated with having Alzheimer; Despite the Alzheimer pathology present in their brain, they never showed signs of degenerating memory throughout their entire life.

This new revelation has baffled scientists whom believe that this means there are some factors that are protecting these individuals from the plaque and tangles in their brain—something that makes them “immune to the toxic effects of plaques and tangles.” Their goal: To figure out exactly what these factors are and possibly help stop the further decline of neurons and memory for elderly affected by the Alzheimer’s pathology. Changiz Guela, the Northwestern Medicine lead investigator is planning on looking “at genetic, dietary and environmental influences that could confer protection for neurons against Alzheimer’s pathology.

This new discovery can lead to promising therapies and treatment in the future. It has the potential to save millions off lives and families. 

Resources:

1. Northwestern University. "elderly discovered with superior memory and Alzheimer's Pathology." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 16 Novemvber 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161116132813.htm>.

2. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161116132813.htm

Alzheimer Pathology Found in Elderly with Superior Memory

A recent study done by Northwestern Medicine has revealed new vital information on Alzheimer's. The study was done on eight individuals, 90 and older who showed superior memory. Three out of the eight individual's brains qualified as having Alzheimer's plaque and tangles present even though they still had superior memory. When there is too much plaque and tangles in the brain, neurons start to die as a result. This means that even though the Alzheimer's was present in these individuals, something in their body is protecting their brains neurons from the toxic effects of the Alzheimer plaque. If scientists are able to determine what is protecting the neurons, it could lead to new medications for Alzheimer patients.

Certain parts of the brain were looked at. One of those parts was the hippocampus, which was looked at and examined, revealing that the nerves cell in the individual with superior memory were all intact. Than patients brains that did have Alzheimer's and displayed the effects of were looked at, revealing quite the opposite. The nerve cells this time showed a significant amount of dead cells. The lead investigator in this study was Changiz Geula which stated, "'These findings clearly demonstrate the brains of some elderly are immune to the toxic effects of plaques and tangles'"(sciencedaily). A new discovery like this brings hope and may even be the leading point need that points us the right direction.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161116132813.htm

Neuroscientists Make Breakthrough for Studying Alzheimer's

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston have made a breakthrough in studying Alzheimer's. What they call "Alzheimer's in a Dish," neuroscientists Doo Yeo Kim and Rudolph E. Tanzi have replicated human brain cells in a petri dish that mimics the network of neurons in a person with Alzheimer's.

Neuroscientist Doo Yeo Kim(Left) and Rudolph E. Tanzi(Right)

The findings started off as a mere suggestion by Doo Yeo Kim to his colleague Rudolph E. Tanzi. The suggestion was to grow human brain cells in a gel. From there, the scientists added genes for Alzheimer's to the neurons. After a few weeks of incubation, the researchers noticed the development of plaque and tangles, which are key features of the neuron network in a person with Alzheimer's. The growth of the neurons began with human embryonic stem cells. Growing them in the presence of certain chemicals allowed the stem cells to turn into neurons. The only requirement then after was to introduce the Alzheimer gene beta amyloid.

Plaque - pictured an orange,  disrupting a network of neurons - pictured in green, in a petri dish. 

Scientists from all over the country are recognizing the breakthrough Dr. Kim and Dr. Tanzi have made. This is a big step forward for the study of Alzheimer's. This allows an accelerate process of drug testing for the disease. Before scientists had to rely on mice to test newly synthesized drug treatment which took a minimum of a year to study. However, with the petri dish method, researchers can study the effects of drugs within a matter of months. The only downfall of this discovery is that the replica does not take into consideration immune system cells, which are known to contribute to Alzheimer's once it begins. Although, hopefully the study will help scientists target Alzheimer's before it even begins.

Dr. Tanzi is now in the beginning stages of testing nearly 6,000 on the market and experimental drugs and their effects on the neurons present in the petri dish. The neuroscientists has already used his method to inhibit a certain enzyme that stopped the formation of tangles. As further research continues and scientists duplicate their methods, a potential drug treatment for Alzheimer's can be found in the coming years. This is very promising news, as Alzheimer's continues to become more and more prominent in our society.

Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/13/science/researchers-replicate-alzheimers-brain-cells-in-a-petri-dish.html?rref=science&module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=Space%20%26%20Cosmos&action=keypress&region=FixedLeft&pgtype=article

Article Related: Beta-Amyloid - http://www.alz.org/braintour/plaques.asp

Genetically Engineered Tomatoes Decrease Plaque Build-Up in Mice

According to Science Daily, researchers have genetically engineered tomatoes so they decrease plaque build up in mice. The mice that ate the engineered tomatoes had less inflammation and reduced atherosclerosis. The plants produced a peptide that mimics the action of good cholesterol when it is consumed.The peptide used was 6F. 6F is a small peptide that acts the same as the protein ApoA-1, the chief protein in high density lipoprotein. The tomatoes were not given to just any mice. They were given to mice that can't remove the low density lipoprotein and are unable to produce inflammation.

The mice showed lower blood levels of inflammation, higher paraoxonase activity, an anti-oxidant enzyme associated with good cholesterol and related to a lower risk of heart disease, higher levels of good cholesterol, decreased lysophosphatidic acid, a tumor promoter that accelerates plaque build-up in arteries in animal models and less plaque. This is the first time that a plant was engineered to produce such effects without total isolation. The mice were not hurt during this study.