Behavioral characterization of an AD mouse model

The APP/PS1 knock-in mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is well suited for preclinical testing of AD therapeutics as it shows age/disease-related cognitive decline without motor/coordination deficits or abnormal anxiety levels.

Smoking & depression:study designs

Peter de Jonge and Elisabeth Bos comment on a study showing smoking is a predictor of depression in heart disease patients, but argue that the use of both nomothetic and idiographic methods will provide more valid data.

CMR predicts prognosis based on plaques

3 Tesla Black-Blood in vivo Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance can differentiate between symptomatic and asymptomatic carotid plaques, demonstrating the its potential to differentiate between stable and vulnerable lesions and identify the level of risk of cardiovascular complications.

Stem cells for diabetic heart repair

Preconditioning diabetic mouse mesenchymal stem cells with myogenic medium improves their survival, proliferation and angiogenic ability in vitro and enhances cardiac repair in vivo after transplantation into diabetic mice.

Processed meat and health risks

Dariush Mozaffarian and colleagues comment on a study showing that processed meat is linked to increased mortality risk, and emphasize how health guidance should recommend avoiding processed meat rather than focusing on fat content.

Neuromuscular stimulation prevents weakness

Critically ill patients in intensive care are prone to muscle weakness and wasting; a systematic review suggests neuromuscular electrical stimulation therapy is effective in preventing muscle weakness, but is inconclusive for muscle wasting.

Viruses, virophages and transposons

A phylogenomic analysis found that giant viruses, virophages and transposable elements have a complex evolutionary relationship, suggesting that viruses evolved from non-viral mobile genetic elements and vice versa, on more than one occasion.

Ionic liquids for biomass fractionation

Lignocellulosic biomass represents an abundant and renewable carbon source, but there are various drawbacks in the traditional methods used to process it. This review discusses the use of ionic liquid technology as a tool for lignocellulosic biomass fractionation

Microwaves for solubilization of inclusion bodies

Production of recombinant proteins in bacterial hosts often produces insoluble inclusion bodies. This paper presents a new method that uses microwaves to facilitate solubilisation of inclusion bodies, reducing the time from hours to minutes

Novel hantavirus in Eurasian shrews

A PCR screen of soricine shrews captured over three years in Poland identified a new hantavirus, Boginia virus, with unknown pathogenic potential.