New Discovery Could Help Halt Alzheimer's

The brain might be the most complicated object in existence, because it is, but we're working our way in one scientific step at a time.  Scientists have scanned the structure of a vital neurological transmitter, blueprinting one more cog in the vast ticking mechanism that makes mankind possible.

The glutamate receptor GluA2 enables communication between neurons, opening an ion channel for charged particles to flow along nervous system connections.  Errors in this essential process are known to play a part in epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease.  A greater understanding of the protein could help prevent these problems.

We've actually advanced to the point where such steps forward can be carried out by anyone with the expertise and equipment to do the work: X-ray crystallography, the same process used to discover DNA's distinctive double helix.  But turning something into a crystal and bombarding it with X-rays is actually a lot of work, to say nothing of the incredible computations required to reverse-engineer the scattered radiation into shape data.

Sobolevsky, Rosconi and Gouaux are to be commended for this major contribution.  Such analysis is incredibly labor intensive and arms others to make the breakthroughs which will earn further credit - be they medical or mental.  

Luke McKinney

Temple of the Mind 

Comments

[Simon Salosny]

When mentioning this huge device, all of the conscious humans refer to it as "My Brain"; not "I", as The Brain should declare if this should be the case. This circumstance, and the fact that "I" shall prove within a moment that "I" can fool the brain into believing a fictitious reality, is a partial proof that "I" am a field of energy that administrates the brain and the human organism; thus being capable of influencing and repairing each and every part (including the Psyche) of same by exerting my will on the Brain.

As for the "fooling" part: Just sit down, relax, by calmly breathing in and out some 12 times, with some curiosity. Now, with your eyes closed, concentrate on the image of somebody you know well, yawning without covering his/her mouth, or; imagine a lemon that you have cut in four parts, then you pick up one and bite into it, feeling the acidity of the juice that covers your tongue...

Most of the persons who followed the instructions, have yawned and/or had juices flowing in their mouths, without the previous, required training. For those whose experience was successful, this sould be a small proof of what they could achieve upon beginning to understand that their brains could be used as a tool leading to an increasingly satisfactory life.

[JIm Seagull]

That is truly amazing. Its about time.

RT
www.be-anonymous.bg.tc

[EvilCosmicMonkeyfrom Knoxville]

Neurology is interesting to me, as my family has a history of Parknson's, strokes, senile dementia, & many other things I want to avoid in my old age.
Time for government to put some funding into this kind of research & development, as well as the private sector.

I intend to visit the website that you put the link up for.
Thanks !

[anti_supernaturalist]

** The de-deification of culture (including the sciences) is our task for the next 100 years **

As long as scientists and science writers insist upon using 'machine' and 'mechanism' in explanations of biology -- they will continue to imply design.

Of course living entities express our hard won abstract mechanical and geometrical principles (as molded by physical constraints) but there is no divine blueprint or artificer for any of them (including us).

There are no machines in nature. Machines are designed by us. They serve our purposes.

Living entities serve no inherent purposes.

However, only persons (a cultural construct) can take on roles.

the anti_supernaturalist

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