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Practice Reading: Reading and Writing Fill in the Blanks ID: #51207 Amyloid Beta
Instructions
It's  like  the  molecular  version  of  the  Joker  and  the  Riddler  teaming  up  against  Batman.    at  Yale  University  have  discovered  that  amyloid  beta,  a  protein  involved  in  Alzheimer's  disease,  can  damage  brain  cells  by  binding  to  prion  proteins,  which  are  themselves  infamous  because,  in  their  abnormal  form,  they  cause  things  like  mad  cow  disease.  Amyloid  beta  is  best  known  as  the  protein  that  forms  the  giant  plaques  that  riddle  the  brains  of  people  with  Alzheimer's.  Those  plaques  contain  billions  of  copies  of  amyloid  beta  all  stuck  together  in  one  gloppy  mess.  But  the  protein  also  exists  in  a  more  soluble  form,  either  in  single  units  or  in  small  groups  of  50  or  100.  These  smaller  clusters  don't  cause  the  same  large-scale  mayhem  as  plaques,  but  they  do  damage  neurons,  impairing  their  ability  to  learn.  And  the  Yale  researchers  wanted  to  find  out  how.  They  discovered  that  amyloid  beta  binds  to  the  prion  proteins  normally  found  on  neurons.  What's  more,  the  prions  ramp  up  amyloid  beta's    effects.  Take  away  the  prions  and  amyloid-beta  clusters  are  ,  findings    in  the  journal  Nature.  So  drugs  that  prevent  this  amyloid-prion  coupling  could  be  a  potent  weapon  against  Alzheimer's.

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