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Originally published at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, on 7 January, 2025 A new study has uncovered a surprising link between Alzheimer’s disease and Herpes Simplex Virus-1 (HSV-1). Researchers found HSV-1 proteins embedded in Alzheimer’s brains, revealing how the virus is inhibited by tau protein—a key player in the disease. These insights could pave the way for innovative treatments targeting viral activity and the brain’s immune response to slow or even stop Alzheimer’s progression. Picture: In green - herpes virus proteins. In red - Alzheimer’s tau. And also a merge image on the right. (Credit - Shemesh Lab) New study led by  Dr. Or Shemesh from the School of Pharmacy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem  has uncovered a surprising connection between Alzheimer’s disease and the Herpes Simplex Virus-1 (HSV-1). The research team used advanced techniques to identify 19 HSV-1-related proteins in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s, across all stages of the disease...

Originally published by Hannah Thomasy, PhD, for the Scientist on June 14, 2024 Scientists turned a deadly virus into a crucial tool for understanding the wiring of the brain.   Rabies labeling helps scientists identify neurons in the primary visual cortex that connect to two different higher visual brain regions. Marina Garrett  In 1906 , pathologist Camillo Golgi and neuroscientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal won the Nobel Prize for their work on the structure of the nervous system . More than a century later, the puzzle of nervous system organization —the intricately tangled mess that results from each neuron’s connections to thousands of others— remains incomplete . Yet, fully developing scientific understanding of these connections is crucial , said Edward Callaway , a systems neurobiologist at the Salk Institute . “If you don’t have some knowledge about how the different parts are interacting , there’s no way to generate a hypothesis about how they’re working toget...

Originally published by Michaela Kane, Duke University, on December 5, 2023   Credit: Nature Chemical Biology (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41589-023-01481-5 A team of engineers at Duke University have developed a method to broaden the reach of CRISPR technologies . While the original CRISPR system could only target 12.5% of the human genome, the new method expands access to nearly every gene to potentially target and treat a broader range of diseases through genome engineering. The research involved collaborators at Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, University of Zurich and McMaster University. This work was published on October 4 in the journal Nature Communications . CRISPR-Cas is a bacterial immune system that allows bacteria to use RNA molecules and CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins to target and destroy the DNA of invading viruses. Since its discovery, researchers have raced to develop an arsenal of...