AI speeds up drug design for Parkinson’s ten-fold

Researchers have used artificial intelligence techniques to massively accelerate the search for Parkinson’s disease treatments.

Cambridge University News • cambridge
April 17, 2024 • ~5 min

Scientists identify genes linked to DNA damage and human disease

Cambridge scientists have identified more than one hundred key genes linked to DNA damage through systematic screening of nearly 1,000 genetically modified

Cambridge University News • cambridge
Feb. 16, 2024 • ~3 min

AI-driven techniques reveal new targets for drug discovery

Researchers have developed a method to identify new targets for human disease, including neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Cambridge University News • cambridge
Sept. 27, 2023 • ~5 min

How frontotemporal dementia, the syndrome affecting Bruce Willis, changes the brain – research is untangling its genetic causes

FTD leads to changes in personality and behavior. Understanding its genetic and molecular causes could lead to new ways to treat neurodegenerative diseases.

Fen-Biao Gao, Professor of Neurology, Gov. Paul Cellucci Chair in Neuroscience Research, UMass Chan Medical School • conversation
Feb. 22, 2023 • ~8 min

Cells routinely self-cannibalize to take out their trash, aiding in survival and disease prevention

Cells degrade and recycle damaged parts of themselves through a process called autophagy. When this “self-devouring” goes awry, it may promote cancer and neurodegenerative disease.

Justin Quiles, Postdoctoral Scholar of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science, University of California, San Diego • conversation
Feb. 8, 2023 • ~9 min

Vaccination to prevent dementia? New research suggests one way viral infections can accelerate neurodegeneration

Inflammation and damage to the olfactory system from shingles, COVID-19 and herpes infections may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.

Maria Nagel, Professor of Neurology and Ophthalmology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus • conversation
Jan. 18, 2023 • ~9 min

Harnessing the brain's immune cells to stave off Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases

Microglia, immune cells disguised as brain cells, are known as the janitors of the brain. Dialing up their usual duties just enough could provide an avenue to treat neurodegenerative disease.

Kristine Zengeler, Ph.D. Candidate in Neuroscience, University of Virginia • conversation
Dec. 7, 2022 • ~9 min

Slow-moving shell of water can make Parkinson’s proteins ‘stickier’

Water – which makes up the majority of every cell in the body – plays a key role in how proteins, including those associated with Parkinson’s disease, fold,

Cambridge University News • cambridge
Nov. 15, 2022 • ~6 min

Expanding Alzheimer's research with primates could overcome the problem with treatments that show promise in mice but don't help humans

Nonhuman primates like rhesus monkeys share certain characteristics with people that may make them better study subjects than mice for research on neurodegenerative diseases.

Amanda M. Dettmer, Associate Research Scientist, Yale University • conversation
Aug. 31, 2022 • ~9 min

Many drugs have mirror image chemical structures – while one may be helpful, the other may be harmful

From thalidomide to resveratrol, molecules with the exact same chemical properties can have drastically different effects in the body depending on how they’re arranged in space.

Sajish Mathew, Assistant Professor of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences, University of South Carolina • conversation
Aug. 3, 2022 • ~7 min

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