AP42751

Science Summary

This article is about how researchers have a study that was published in ‘Nature Neuroscience’ identifying abnormal expression of genes, which were resulted from DNA relaxation, that can be detected in the brain and blood of Alzheimer’s, also known as dementia or a neurological disorder involving problems with memory and thinking that affect an individual’s emotional, social, and physical functioning (Boyd, 445), patients (Brigham and Women’s Hospital). Bess Frost, PhD, and co-authors used cross-sectional design research (Boyd, 15) with flies and mice, expressing humans, and found in their research that the protein Tau, which is involved in a number of neurodegenerative disorders including in Alzheimer’s disease, could be a cause of neuron, or cell, deaths in Alzheimer’s patients. As their research continued, they identified that the relaxation of tightly wound DNA and resulting abnormal gene expression are central events that cause neurons to die in Alzheimer’s disease (Brigham and Women’s Hospital). This information can also be supported by the textbook, “Errors in the production of protein occur, the dendrites and axons of neurons in the brain become tangled and, as a result, do not function as efficiently” (Boyd, 446). This information found could give scientist and doctors a better understanding of the pathway of how the DNA relaxation in tauopathies act to target and explore new medical solutions to this disease.

References:
 * Brigham and Women's Hospital. "Potential Biomarkers for Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease." //ScienceDaily//. ScienceDaily, n.d. Web. 01 Aug. 2014.
 * Boyd, Denise Roberts., and Helen L. Bee. //Lifespan Development//. Sixth ed. Boston: Perason Allyn & Bacon, 2012. Print.

Only graders edit below this line!

Grader #1: 1406993230 Grader #2: 1407035233] Grader #3: 1407100537 Grader #4: 1407190257] Grader #5: 1407271548 =Grading Form= media type="custom" key="25032734"