Answering an Amyloid Beta Question
Better science leads to better tools that allow for better science. EurekAlert provides a snapshot of this feedback loop in action in Alzheimer's research. Most of us have heard of the buildup of amyloid beta (Abeta) and its connection with this neurodegenerative disease, but it is still an open question as to whether the buildup is due to greater production or failure to break down amyloid. "Because Alzheimer's symptoms take many years to develop, some researchers had assumed that the creation and clearance rates for Abeta were very slow. But the initial test of the new technique [suggest] Abeta has the second-fastest production rate of any protein whose production rate has been measured so far. In a time span of about six or seven hours, you make half the amyloid beta found in your central nervous system." Many other basic questions remain unanswered - but the tools of modern biotechnology are becoming far more capable with each passing year.
Link: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-06/wuso-pok062206.php