A landmark study has revealed that cholesterol in the brain may play a fundamental role in catalyzing the formation of amyloid beta clusters, thought to be a central mechanism leading to the devastating degenerative symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

An international team of researchers, led by the University of Cambridge, set out to uncover what causes amyloid beta proteins to cluster into the plaques that slowly accumulate and cause the primary degenerative symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

“The levels of amyloid-beta normally found in the brain are about a thousand times lower than we require to observe it aggregating in the laboratory – so what happens in the brain to make it aggregate?” asks Michele Vendruscolo, lead on the new research.

There’s a drug that can immediately minimize or even remove the trauma and fear response in human beings.

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How propranolol, a drug used for years to combat high blood pressure, can actually change the fear response to PTSD, traumatic stimuli, and triggers.

Lightning strikes, MRI machines, and other sources of powerful electrical fields can damage medical devices and cause serious brain injury.

A toxic chemical produced by algae and linked to motor neuron disease has been detected in NSW rivers. Its presence — long suspected but now confirmed — could be linked to a disease hotspot in the Riverina.