Alzheimer's breakthrough from basic research

[montyy0]

Researchers have found a correlate to Alzheimer's in embryonic development ( link.) In addition to the promise this may have for finding cures and treatments, it offers a chance for me to get on a soapbox

Comments

[ammonoid]

I dunno, it seems like every other day there is a new connection to Alzheimers. First its a virus. Then autoimmune. Then a virus again. Now neuronal pruning gone awry. At this point there isn't much that isn't tied to Alzheimers.

The problem is that most funding goes through NIH, and not a lot through NSF, so NIH is concerned with disease and cures, and NSF is more basic science but that is vastly less funded than disease research.

Generally speaking the last 8 years have been a real dearth in funding for research in general. It will be a while before basic research, even in the life sciences which is comparatively well funded is back to where it should be.

the ways in which human biology is different are important

[jon0001]

as someone trying to make their way in the world of translational research, it is vital to appreciate how different the human is from any other organism. most of my work is in the mouse, but I occasionally do an observational clinical study. most of the models in the mouse are complete crap with regard to figuring out something that may work in people. yeah, we learn a lot of neat biology about the mouse, worm and fish. but precious little of it helps. there are a lot of reasons for this, especially because of genetic heterogeneity and the complex spectrum of environmental exposures, lifestyle choices and the diversity of comorbid conditions that impinge on healthcare (not to mention the fact that we are constrained by the model organism regarding how well the disease model actually recapitulates the human disease