In work that sheds light on both the toxicity of amyloid beta and the role that immune system molecules play in the brain, researchers have shown that amyloid beta oligomers can weaken synapses by binding to the PirB receptor. In animal models of Alzheimer’s disease, such weakening went along with cognitive problems.

Researchers have identified a protein that is critical for keeping adult cells from turning back into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. In cells that lack this protein, the transcription factor cocktail that is used to turn cells into iPS cells worked basically without fail; the efficiency of generating such cells skyrocketed from 1 percent of cells to more than 90 percent.

Researchers have deciphered the crystal structure of the HIV co-receptor bound to an indirect inhibitor of viral entry, Celsentri/Selzentry (maraviroc, ViiV Healthcare Co.). The findings could offer valuable clues for how to design the next generation of such inhibitors.

Using an approach that is complementary to genomewide association studies (GWAS), researchers have identified the cholesterol metabolism gene EPHX2 as playing a role in anorexia.

Scientists have reported that monkeys that received a vaccine against simian immunodeficiency virus, the monkey version of HIV, were able to first control and ultimately clear their infections, even after the type of viral reservoir had developed that bedevils the ability of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) to truly get rid of HIV.

Since their initial description in 2007, induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells have been investigated as a possible alternative to embryonic stem cells. By adding a cocktail of so-called reprogramming factors, scientists can turn mature cells – most often skin cells – into pluripotent cells that can turn into many different cell types.

The 2013 Lasker Awards were announced Monday morning, with basic and clinical awards both going for advances in the field of neuroscience, albeit of a very different kind.

Parkin is a well-known player in Parkinson’s disease – mutations in the protein, in fact, are the most common cause of familial Parkinson’s. The protein functions in mitochondrial quality control, tagging damaged mitochondria with ubiquitin for destruction by the autophagosome – a process that goes by the name mitophagy.

Mention “vasculature” and “cancer drug” in the same sentence, and most people with think anti-angiogenesis. Which, with blockbusters like Avastin (bevacizumab, Roche AG) on the market and dozens of angiogenesis inhibitors in development, is not surprising.

In work that sheds new light on both immune function and the body’s response to injuries, researchers have shown that platelets play a role in the trafficking of T cells into lymph nodes.