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- Unlearned lessons: Memory-restoring lithium and the brain of a predatory worm
Unlearned lessons: Memory-restoring lithium and the brain of a predatory worm
American researchers have discovered in experiments involving humans predisposed to dementia, as well as tests on mice, that maintaining the body's lithium balance can stop and even reverse memory loss in neurodegeneration. And German experts have compiled a complete map of synoptic connections in the predatory worm's nervous system. Now it has become clear to science that the difference in behavior of different species is determined not by individual differences in the brain, but by the peculiarities of animal development, the formation of neural connections and cell death. Read about these and other news from the world of science in the weekly Izvestia collection.
"Glowing" dosimeter tablets will detect dangerous radiation
Russia has developed a new generation of personal dosimeters that can accurately measure the dose of occupational exposure of employees of nuclear power plants and other radiation-hazardous facilities. The development was carried out by engineers from the Specialized Scientific Research Institute of Instrument Engineering (SNIIP, part of the Rosatom State Corporation).
As the experts explained, the accumulated dose is the amount of ionizing radiation energy that is absorbed by a substance or material over a certain period of time. For employees of nuclear power plants, the norm is no more than 20 mSv (millisieverts) per year, and for the population — up to 1 mSv. For comparison, with an accumulation of a dose of 1000 mSv, radiation sickness can occur, and with 4000-5000 mSv— death.
— The development is a device that every employee carries with him while staying at a nuclear facility. Its main element is phosphor detectors in the form of tablets, created on the basis of magnesium and boron compounds," Andrey Gordeev, chief designer of SNIP, told Izvestia.
He explained that the pills are equivalent to human tissues in terms of the intensity of radiation dose accumulation.
The compact device will help to detect diseases of the brain and heart, more precisely, ECG and EEG
Specialists from MIPT and the V.A. Kotelnikov Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics (IRE) of the Russian Academy of Sciences have developed a sensitive molecular-size detector capable of detecting magnetic radiation of different ranges. The invention can have many practical applications. One of the main uses in medicine is to create compact and cost-effective diagnostic devices for magnetic encephalography and cardiography. They are much more accurate than standard electroencephalography (EEG) and electrocardiography (ECG), but are still considered experimental, since the equipment for them can only work at ultra-low temperatures. For this reason, such devices are large in size and high in cost. Scientists have already started work on creating equipment based on new principles.
— Human organs, such as the brain and heart muscle, generate electromagnetic impulses. But the power of the magnetic fields is very small. Our detector can register them and monitor the condition of these organs. ECG and EEG measure the electrical component of the heart and brain. But the magnetic component is much more accurate, as it comes directly from these organs. Therefore, magnetic encephalographs and cardiographs are more effective. However, existing devices are too bulky for this, as they are installed in cryostats. And they are very expensive. We are creating sensors that operate at room temperature," said Sergey Nikitov, Head of the MIPT Department of Electronics and Director of the V.A. Kotelnikov Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The new detector is slightly more than 100 nanometers thick.
Antifungal drug is effective in acute kidney injury
MSU specialists, along with colleagues from several other scientific organizations, suggested using trichostatin A, which is used as an antifungal drug, to treat acute kidney injury. This pathology develops due to various infections and circulatory problems. As a result, the work of the organ is disrupted. Doctors have the means to treat this disorder, but they do not allow to effectively restore functional cells and fight fibrosis at the same time.
However, the study showed that the natural compound trichostatin A affects DNA, including the genes needed for treatment.
— For the first time, we have determined that trichostatin A demonstrates a dual effect: on the one hand, it protects the kidneys from scarring, and on the other hand, it accelerates the regeneration of damaged tissue. This property can be used to create therapies for effective tissue repair, for example, in acute kidney injury, to prevent subsequent organ function decline," said Egor Plotnikov, head of the Laboratory of Mitochondrial Structure and Function at the Belozersky Research Institute of Physico—Chemical Biology at Moscow State University.
Scientists will continue to develop practical treatments based on the discovery.
Lithium restores memory in Alzheimer's disease
Replenishing the natural reserves of lithium in the brain can protect against Alzheimer's disease and even reverse it, a study by American scientists has shown.
Analysis of human brain tissue and a series of experiments on mice indicate a pattern: with a decrease in lithium concentration in the brain, memory loss and neurological signs of Alzheimer's disease, such as amyloid plaques, usually develop. The study also showed that in mice, a certain type of lithium supplement eliminates these neurological changes and slows down memory loss, returning the brain to a younger and healthier state.
If clinical trials confirm the effectiveness of a lithium-balancing drug, this could significantly improve dementia therapy.
"The antiamyloid drugs on the market slow down cognitive decline, but they don't stop it or restore function," said Bruce Yankner, a geneticist at Harvard Medical School in Boston.,
According to him, there is still no effective remedy for dementia.
Scientists have created a map of the predatory worm's nervous system
German scientists have created a complete map of the nervous system of a predatory worm of the species Pristionchus pacificus. In 1986, researchers for the first time built a model of all the neural connections of a living being — it became the worm Caenorhabditis elegans, which has 302 neurons.
Experts have specifically analyzed a related species to understand how changes in nerves affect behavior. Scientific work has shown that this difference lies not in specific differences between nerves, but in various synoptic connections, the nature of the body's development and the mechanism of cell death.
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