Guest 1 - Professor Leigh Ackland
Leigh discusses her discovery on how the omega-3 fatty acid DHA can help prevent brain cells from dying – a finding which could have implications for reducing the risk of brain function loss associated with conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. Leigh and her colleagues looked specifically at the relationship between DHA and zinc in the brain’s nerve cells. They found that when the level of DHA in neuronal cells drops, the level of zinc rises. The higher levels of zinc can be toxic, resulting in cell death. This type of cell death is a key feature of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s.
Other segments:
-ecological impacts of growing genetically engineered cotton
-a new treatment against the Ebola virus
-scramjets
-mutant mice who groom themselves
-the activities of Craig Venter – creator of the first cell with a synthetic genome.
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Direct podcast download: Einstein-A-Go-Go-20100530.mp3
