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Researchers have discovered how a cell surface protein called Aplp1 can play a role in spreading material responsible for Parkinson’s disease from cell-to-cell in the brain.

Promisingly, an FDA-approved cancer drug that targets another protein called Lag3 – which interacts with Aplp1 – blocks the spread in mice, suggesting a potential therapy may already exist.

In a recent paper, an international team of scientists describes how the two proteins work together to help harmful alpha-synuclein protein clumps get into brain cells.

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Dark matter, a mysterious substance thought to make up most of the universe’s mass, has puzzled scientists for nearly a century. First proposed by Dutch astronomer Jan Oort in 1932 to explain the “missing mass” needed for galaxies to stay together, it remains undetected despite decades of research. However, a recent study by Dr. Richard Lieu at The…

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Innovations in engine technology are making water a potential fuel source, leveraging hydrogen extracted from H₂O.

Toyota’s latest breakthrough in sustainable mobility — the world’s first water engine. Departing from conventional hydrogen-powered vehicles, this groundbreaking innovation operates at an unprecedented temperature of 2500°C, thanks to its ingenious water-cooled design. But that’s not all — equipped with a special dual injection system, this engine delivers unparalleled efficiency and performance.

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The launch of Polaris Dawn from Kennedy Space Center includes the first civilian commercial spacewalk and other factors that will be firsts for space medicine research. And that’s why Emmanuel Urquieta, an internationally recognized space medicine expert who recently joined UCF’s College of Medicine, is especially excited about this latest mission.

The spacecraft is flying up to 870 miles above Earth—the highest orbit flown in the last half century. And at that altitude, the astronauts will be exposed to higher radiation than most astronauts who stay in low Earth orbit, such as those onboard the International Space Station.

After achieving the high orbit, Polaris Dawn will come down to a lower altitude for the spacewalk. Traditionally, when astronauts exit the spacecraft, there is an airlock that allows the interior of the vehicle to stay pressurized. But during this week’s walk, the entire vehicle will be depressurized so all four astronauts will be exposed to the vacuum of space and must rely on their spacesuits for life support.

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Researchers at the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), Germany, have developed a new method that makes it possible for the first time to image the three-dimensional shape of proteins with a conventional microscope. Combined with artificial intelligence, One-step Nanoscale Expansion (ONE) microscopy enables the detection of structural changes in damaged or toxic proteins in human samples. Diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, which are based on protein misfolding, could thus be detected and treated at an early stage.

ONE microscopy was named one of the “seven technologies to watch in 2024” by the journal Nature and was recently published in the renowned journal Nature Biotechnology (“One-step nanoscale expansion microscopy reveals individual protein shapes”).

Artistic impression of the first protein structure of the GABAA receptor solved by ONE microscopy. (Image: Shaib/Rizzoli, umg/mbexc)

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Medical Countermeasures For Exotic Viral Diseases — Dr. Jay Hooper, Ph.D. — Chief, Molecular Virology Branch, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases — USAMRIID.

Dr. Jay Hooper, Ph.D is Chief, Molecular Virology Branch, at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID — https://usamriid.health.mil/) where his research is aimed at the discovery and development of medical countermeasures targeting exotic viral diseases of military importance including hemorrhagic fever caused by hantaviruses, arenaviruses, filoviruses (e.g., Ebola virus), and diseases caused by poxviruses (e.g., smallpox and monkeypox).

Dr. Hooper’s discoveries include one of the world’s most potent monoclonal antibodies targeting smallpox (7D11), and the first practical lethal disease animal model for a hantavirus (Andes virus in Syrian hamsters).

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