December 5, 2023: A mysterious dog disease is reported in 15 states and sustainable energy projects are fueling a humanitarian crisis. Plus, could some forms of dementia be contagious? —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | | A severe respiratory illness is spreading in dogs in at least 15 states, according to recent reports. Plenty of pups seem to clear the bug with treatment, but some experience a persistent cough that turns into pneumonia and in some cases death. Some develop long-term symptoms or secondary infections. Veterinary scientists haven't been able to identify the organism—or organisms—responsible for these strange cases. But after several months of study, researchers have an inkling that a bacterium may be responsible.
What you can do: Keep your dog up-to-date on all shots. Watch closely for coughs that keep getting worse, sneezing and discharge from the eyes or mouth. If your dog is sick, keep them at home and avoid kennels, doggy daycare and dog parks.
What the experts say: Don't panic. Your local vet can let you know if the new illness appears to be active in your region, says Kathleen Aicher, a veterinarian who specializes in internal medicine for dogs and cats at Texas A&M University. | | | In the last several years, scientists have begun investigating whether neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinsons can be contagious. One misfolded protein, scientists hypothesize, might somehow ensnare other proteins and cause them to misfold, leading to plaque build-up in the brain. If a malfunctioning protein somehow finds its way into another individual, could it launch a similar accumulation of proteins?
What they've found: In 2015 researchers reported a curious buildup of the protein plaque associated with some dementias in young to middle-age adults who had received childhood injections of human growth hormone extracted from the pituitary glands of cadavers. And in 2018 doctors recorded unusual cases of cerebral amyloid angiopathy, a condition marked by amyloid buildup in cerebral blood vessels; because these young adults had brain surgery in childhood, the researchers suspect that contaminated surgical tools transferred the "seeds" of plaque accumulation to the patients' brains.
Why this matters: Learning how prionlike diseases "spread" might launch treatments that interrupt their replication and accumulation. Early studies in mice have shown that amyloid antibodies can clear plaque build up, which aligns with recent trials of new Alzheimer's treatments that show how removing brain amyloid can slow cognitive decline. If protein misfolding is contagious, we may have a new way to interrupt the devastation it causes. | | | • Researchers exploring how light is reflected in time (using newfangled metamaterials) are finding that light can travel backward in time...sort of. | 7 min read | | | • An AI model taught a robot the best way to pack a car and a suitcase—and someday maybe a rocket to Mars. | 4 min read | | | • Polar bears can be hard to spot, but new tools such as drone-mounted radar can prevent us from disrupting the hidden dens where bears give birth. | 5 min read | | | • Cobalt is a crucial mineral used in batteries that store energy generated from renewable sources--wind turbines and solar panels, for example. But increased demand for cobalt will lead to more mines, primarily in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where 70 percent of global cobalt supply is harvested. These mines "rely on child labor, unsafe working conditions and exposure to hazardous pollutants that lead to poor health outcomes," which is accelerating to nothing short of a humanitarian crisis, write doctors Marx Itabelo Lwabanya and James Huang. "There is an overwhelming price for the shift to energy independence, and it is being paid by the most vulnerable citizens of the DRC," they say. | 4 min read | | | Credit: Ammar Natalwala (from research conducted at the University of Edinburgh and funded by the Wellcome Trust) | | | These striking strands of black, white and orange represent Parkinson's disease in a petri dish. Neuroscientist Ammar Natalwala transformed human stem cells into mature neurons and used Lewy bodies—the clumps of protein found in brain plaques typical of Parkinson's disease—to push them into a diseased state. The imbalance triggered by the protein can be observed under a microscope; in that way, scientists can watch how the proteins tear apart the brain's ability to perform basic functions. This image, titled "Erupting Neurons" was one of our photo editor's top picks from this year's annual Art of Neuroscience competition. You can read about the winners here. | | | Sleep allows the brain to flush waste and built-up proteins from its plumbing through cerebral spinal fluid. As we age, our brain cleaning mechanisms slow (and we don't sleep as well), leading to the accumulation of misfolded proteins and plaques. As if we needed another reason to log a full eight hours a night, solid shut-eye may be crucial for brain health. | Thanks for reading Today in Science. Your feedback and suggestions are always welcome: newsletters@sciam.com. Sleep well! | —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters . | | | | Scientific American
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