• Current Issue
• Past Issues
• On the Bookshelf
• Science in the News

• About
• Subscribe
• Advertise
• Sigma Xi

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS WEEKLY

Alzheimer's 'Jumps' Across Brain Cells

A new study suggests that Alzheimer's disease spreads through the brain like an infection, jumping from one cell to another.

In other biomedical news, research has shown that we unhurriedly make synaptic connections through much of our early childhood, and this plasticity enables us to slowly wire our brains based on our experiences.

After a bout of virulent bird flu, mice's brains show short-term reductions of a key brain chemical and long-lasting signs of infection. The research suggests this type of flu might leave people more vulnerable to Parkinson's disease and other brain disorders.

Last week the first drug for people with advanced forms of basal cell carcinoma was approved. The drug is designed for patients whose cancer has spread either locally or to other parts of the body.

A new study shows that in mice, prions introduced from other species can replicate in the spleen without necessarily affecting the brain. The study reinforces the concern that thousands of people in the United Kingdom might be silent carriers of prion infection.