A new study from Aarhus University shows that our cells’ ability to clean out old protein clumps, known as aggregates, also includes a - up till now unknown - partnership with an engine that breaks down bigger pieces into smaller before” taking it to the trash.” An important find for future treatments of diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS and Huntington’s, which are all characterized by the accumulation of protein in the brain.

Keith Cole, DPT, PhD, assistant professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, has received a Paul B. Beeson Emerging Leaders Career Development Award in Aging for research into the pathophysiological changes associated with changes in gait and cognition in older adults, known as dual decline.

Growth hormone is released during sleep, strengthening bone and muscle and burning fat, but how lack of sleep interferes with growth hormone release has been a mystery. UC Berkeley researchers studying the hypothalamus in mice have found two circuits that balance growth hormone release, operating differently in REM sleep and non-REM sleep. The findings could open new avenues for treating sleep disorders tied to metabolic conditions like diabetes or degenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.