How Does ApoE Work in Alzheimer's?

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Oligodendrocytes use cholesterol to make insulating sheaths around neighboring neurons made of myelin. This myelination is important to allow neurons to fire properly. In the ApoE4 carrier's brain, this kind of nice ribbon-like cholesterol structure alone, the axon, is diminished. So by messing with cholesterol, seems to be linked to neurons having damaged myel and sheaths. Could decrease the speed of transmission between neurons, which might explain some of the cognitive deficits seen in Alzheimer's.

00:46 Artemis 1 is go!

NASA’s Artemis 1 mission has successfully reached Earth orbit. After weeks of delays and issues, and a nail biting launch, the rocket marks the first step in a new era of moon exploration, with plans to test a new way to return astronauts to the moon. We caught up with reporter for all-things-space, Alex Witze, for the latest.

News: Lift off! Artemis Moon rocket launch kicks off new era of human exploration

10:06 Research Highlights

The unlevel playing field in women’s football, and domed structures provide evidence for a biological origin of stromatolites.

Research Article: Okholm Kryger et al.

Research Article: Hickman-Lewis et al.

12:39 A mechanistic link for an Alzheimer’s gene

Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia that affects millions of people every year. Whilst the biggest risk factor of late-onset Alzheimer’s is age, there are a number of genes that have been implicated. How exactly these genes underpin this disease is unclear, but new research may now reveal how one of them does so, by affecting the myelination of neurons. The authors hope this work may help uncover treatments for Alzheimer’s.

Research Article: Blanchard et al.

News and Views: Alzheimer’s risk variant APOE4 linked to myelin-assembly malfunction

20:44 Updates from COP27

The second week of the 27th UN Climate Change Conference is underway, as policymakers and scientists try to come together to tackle climate change. Flora Graham, senior editor at Nature is in Egypt at the conference and we caught up with her for the latest.

News: ‘Actions, not just words’: Egypt’s climate scientists share COP27 hopes

News: Carbon emissions hit new high: warning from COP27

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