Microbes and Alzheimer's Disease Ruth Itzhaki

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Microbes and Alzheimer's Disease Ruth Itzhaki Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine DigitalCommons@PCOM PCOM Scholarly Papers 2016 Microbes and Alzheimer's Disease Ruth Itzhaki Richard Lathe Brian J. Balin Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, [email protected] Melvyn J. Ball Elaine L. Bearer See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.pcom.edu/scholarly_papers Part of the Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons Recommended Citation Itzhaki, Ruth; Lathe, Richard; Balin, Brian J.; Ball, Melvyn J.; Bearer, Elaine L.; Braak, Heiko; Bullido, Maria J.; Carter, Chris; Clerici, Mario; and al., et, "Microbes and Alzheimer's Disease" (2016). PCOM Scholarly Papers. Paper 1657. http://digitalcommons.pcom.edu/scholarly_papers/1657 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@PCOM. It has been accepted for inclusion in PCOM Scholarly Papers by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@PCOM. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Authors Ruth Itzhaki, Richard Lathe, Brian J. Balin, Melvyn J. Ball, Elaine L. Bearer, Heiko Braak, Maria J. Bullido, Chris Carter, Mario Clerici, and et al. This article is available at DigitalCommons@PCOM: http://digitalcommons.pcom.edu/scholarly_papers/1657 Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease 51 (2016) 979–984 979 DOI 10.3233/JAD-160152 IOS Press Editorial Microbes and Alzheimer’s Disease Ruth F. Itzhakia,∗, Richard Latheb,∗, Brian J. Balinc, Melvyn J. Balld, Elaine L. Bearere, Heiko Braakf , Maria J. Bullidog, Chris Carterh, Mario Clericii, S. Louise Cosbyj, Kelly Del Tredicif , Hugh Fieldk, Tamas Fulopl, Claudio Grassim, W. Sue T. Griffinn,Jurgen¨ Haasb, Alan P. Hudsono, Angela R. Kamerp, Douglas B. Kellq, Federico Licastror, Luc Letenneurs, Hugo Lovheim¨ t, Roberta Mancusou, Judith Miklossyv, Carola Otthw, Anna Teresa Palamarax, George Perryy, Christopher Prestonz, Etheresia Pretoriusaa, Timo Strandbergbb, Naji Tabetcc, Simon D. Taylor-Robinsondd and Judith A. Whittum-Hudsonee aFaculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, UK bDivision of Infection and Pathway Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Little France, Edinburgh, UK cCenter for Chronic Disorders of Aging, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia, USA dDepartment of Pathology (Neuropathology), Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA eDepartment of Pathology, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA f Clinical Neuroanatomy Section, Department of Neurology, Center for Biomedical Research, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany gCentro de Biologia Molecular ‘Severo Ochoa’ (CSIC-UAM), Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, and Centro de Investigacion en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Madrid, Spain hPolygenic Pathways, Hastings, East Sussex, UK iUniversity of Milano and IRCCS SM Nascente, Don C Gnocchi Foundation, Milan, Italy jCentre for Infection and Immunity, Medical Biology Centre, Queen’s University, Belfast, UK kQueens’ College, Cambridge, UK lDepartment of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics, Universit´e de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, PQ, Canada mInstitute of Human Physiology, Medical School, Universit´a Cattolica, Rome; San Raffaele Pisana Scientific Institute for Research, Hospitalization, and Health Care, Rome, Italy nDepartment of Geriatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Little Rock, AR, USA oDepartment of Immunology and Microbiology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA pNYU College of Dentistry, Department of Periodontology and Implant Dentistry, New York, NY, USA qSchool of Chemistry, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK rDepartment of Experimental, Diagnostic, and Specialty Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy sINSERM, Universit´e de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France tDepartment of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Geriatric Medicine, Ume˚a University, Ume˚a, Sweden uDon Gnocchi Foundation ONLUS, Milan, Italy ∗Correspondence to: Current address: Prof. Ruth F. Itzhaki, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of and Richard Lathe, Division of Infection and Pathway Medicine, Oxford, Level 6, West Wing, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK. University of Edinburgh, 49 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh Tel.: +44 01865 250853; E-mail: [email protected] EH16 4SB, UK. E-mail: [email protected]. ISSN 1387-2877/16/$35.00 © 2016 – IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved 980 R.F. Itzhaki et al. / Microbes and Alzheimer’s Disease vPrevention Alzheimer International Foundation, International Alzheimer Research Center, Martigny-Croix, Switzerland wInstitute of Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Austral University of Chile, Valdivia, Chile xDepartment of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Institute Pasteur Cenci Bolognetti Foundation, Sapienza University of Rome; San Raffaele Pisana Scientific Institute for Research, Hospitalization, and Health Care, Rome, Italy yCollege of Sciences, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA zInstitute of Virology, Glasgow, UK aaApplied Morphology Research Centre, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Arcadia, South Africa bbHelsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki; University of Oulu, Centre of Life Course Health Research, Oulu, Finland ccDivision of Old Age Psychiatry, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, UK ddSt Mary’s Hospital, Imperial College London, London, UK eeDepartments of Immunology and Microbiology, Internal Medicine (Rheumatology), and Ophthalmology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA Accepted 9 February 2016 We are researchers and clinicians working on affected, such that ‘controls’, even if infected, are Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or related topics, and we asymptomatic [2]. write to express our concern that one particular aspect of the disease has been neglected, even though treat- ment based on it might slow or arrest AD progression. EVIDENCE FOR AN INFECTIOUS/IMMUNE We refer to the many studies, mainly on humans, COMPONENT implicating specific microbes in the elderly brain, notably herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1), Chlamy- (i) Viruses and other microbes are present in dia pneumoniae, and several types of spirochaete, in the brain of most elderly people [11–13]. the etiology of AD [1–4]. Fungal infection of AD Although usually dormant, reactivation can brain [5, 6] has also been described, as well as abnor- occur after stress and immunosuppression; for mal microbiota in AD patient blood [7]. The first example, HSV1 DNA is amplified in the brain observations of HSV1 in AD brain were reported of immunosuppressed patients [14]. almost three decades ago [8]. The ever-increasing (ii) Herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE) produces number of these studies (now about 100 on HSV1 damage in localized regions of the CNS related alone) warrants re-evaluation of the infection and AD to the limbic system, which are associated concept. with memory, cognitive and affective processes AD is associated with neuronal loss and pro- [15], as well as personality (the same as those gressive synaptic dysfunction, accompanied by the affected in AD). deposition of amyloid-␤ (A␤) peptide, a cleavage (iii) In brain of AD patients, pathogen signatures product of the amyloid-␤ protein precursor (A␤PP), (e.g., HSV1 DNA) specifically colocalize with and abnormal forms of tau protein, markers that have AD pathology [13, 16, 17]. been used as diagnostic criteria for the disease [9, 10]. (iv) HSV infection, as revealed by seropositivity, These constitute the hallmarks of AD, but whether is significantly associated with development of they are causes of AD or consequences is unknown. AD [18–21]. We suggest that these are indicators of an infectious (v) AD has long been known to have a promi- etiology. In the case of AD, it is often not realized nent inflammatory component characteristic of that microbes can cause chronic as well as acute dis- infection (reviewed in [22, 23]). eases; that some microbes can remain latent in the (vi) Polymorphisms in the apolipoprotein E gene, body with the potential for reactivation, the effects APOE, that modulate immune function and of which might occur years after initial infection; susceptibility to infectious disease [24], also and that people can be infected but not necessarily govern AD risk (reviewed in [25, 26]). R.F. Itzhaki et al. / Microbes and Alzheimer’s Disease 981 Genome-wide association studies reveal that (iii) A␤ is an antimicrobial peptide with potent other immune system components, including activity against multiple bacteria and yeast virus receptor genes, are further AD risk factors [69]. A␤ also has antiviral activity [70–72]. [27–32]. (iv) Another antimicrobial peptide (␤-defensin 1) is (vii) Features of AD pathology are transmissible by upregulated in AD brain [73]. inoculation of AD brain to primates [33, 34] and mice [35, 36]. Regarding HSV1, about 100 publications by many groups indicate directly or indirectly that this virus is a major factor in the disease. They include studies EVIDENCE FOR CAUSATION suggesting that the virus confers risk of the disease when present in brain of carriers of the ␧4 allele of (i) In humans, brain infection (e.g., by HIV, her- APOE [74], an established susceptibility factor for pesvirus, measles) is known to be associated AD (APOE ␧4 determines susceptibility in several with AD-like
Recommended publications
  • 2000 Brighton, UNITED KINGDOM
    KNOCKOUTS & MUTANTS III: Genetically Dissecting Brain and Behavior Third Annual General Meeting of the International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society INTERNATIONAL BEHAVIOURAL AND NEURAL GENETICS SOCIETY KNOCKOUTS & MUTANTS III: Genetically Dissecting Brain and Behavior THIRD ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING June 22 - June 23, 2000 Brighton, UK Executive Committee President: Wim E. Crusio (Orléans, France!) President-elect: Douglas Wahlsten (Edmonton, Canada) Past-President: Hans-Peter Lipp (Zürich, Switzerland) Secretary: Enrico Alleva (Rome, Italy) Treasurer: Robert Gerlai (Indianapolis, IN,, USA) Members-at-large: Terry R. McGuire (Piscataway, N.J., USA) Osvaldo Giorgi (Cagliari, Italy) Catherine Belzung (Tours, France) Local Host Wim E. Crusio (Orléans, France) Programme Committee Philip Gorwood (Chair; Colombes, France) Joshua Dubnau (Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA) Seth Grant (Edinburgh, UK) Richard Paylor (Houston, TX, USA) Marina Picciotto (New Haven, CT, USA) This meeting was generously supported by: Current Trends Ltd., London, UK Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Ely Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, USA Parke-Davis Pharmaceutical Research, Division of Warner-Lambert Co., Ann Arbor, MI, USA 1 KNOCKOUTS & MUTANTS III: Genetically Dissecting Brain and Behavior Third Annual General Meeting of the International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society Program Thursday, June 22, 2000 7.30 am-5.30 pm Registration 8.00-8.30 am Opening session 8.30-9.30 am Plenary Lecture. Jacqueline N. Crawley (Bethesda, MD, USA). What’s wrong with my mouse? Behavioral phenotyping strategies and applications. 9.30-10.30 am Symposium. Genetics of eating disorders. Chair: David A Collier (London, UK) 10.30-11.00 am David A. Collier, Andreas Karwautz, Janet Treasure (London, UK).
    [Show full text]
  • Mouse Brain Endocrine Receptor Expression Highlights a Dentate Gyrus (DG)–Cornu Ammonis (CA) Challenge–Sufficiency Axis
    Edinburgh Research Explorer The interoceptive hippocampus: mouse brain endocrine receptor expression highlights a dentate gyrus (DG)–cornu ammonis (CA) challenge–sufficiency axis Citation for published version: Lathe, R, Singadia, S, Jordan, C & Riedel, G 2020, 'The interoceptive hippocampus: mouse brain endocrine receptor expression highlights a dentate gyrus (DG)–cornu ammonis (CA) challenge–sufficiency axis', PLoS ONE, vol. 15, no. 1, e0227575. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227575 Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 10.1371/journal.pone.0227575 Link: Link to publication record in Edinburgh Research Explorer Document Version: Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Published In: PLoS ONE General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via the Edinburgh Research Explorer is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy The University of Edinburgh has made every reasonable effort to ensure that Edinburgh Research Explorer content complies with UK legislation. If you believe that the public display of this file breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 02. Oct. 2021 RESEARCH ARTICLE The interoceptive hippocampus: Mouse brain endocrine receptor expression highlights a dentate gyrus (DG)±cornu ammonis (CA) challenge±sufficiency
    [Show full text]
  • United States Patent (19) 11 Patent Number: 6,007,806 Lathe Et Al
    US006007806A United States Patent (19) 11 Patent Number: 6,007,806 Lathe et al. (45) Date of Patent: *Dec. 28, 1999 54 EXPRESSION OF ATUMOR-SPECIFIC 56) References Cited ANTIGEN BY ARECOMBINANT VECTOR VIRUS AND USE THEREOF IN PREVENTIVE U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS OR CURATIVE TREATMENT OF THE 4,603,112 7/1986 Paoletti ................................ 435/235.1 CORRESPONDING TUMOR 5,744,133 4/1998 Lathe et al. ............................ 424/93.2 75 Inventors: Richard Lathe; Marie-Paule Kieny, OTHER PUBLICATIONS both of Strasbourg, Guerrino RasSoulzadegan et al., The roles of individual polyomavirus Meneguzzi, Nice, all of France early proteins in oncogenic transformation, Nature, Vol. 300, Dec. 23/30, 1982, pp. 713–718. 73 Assignee: Transgene S.A., France Tyndall et al., A region of the polyoma virus genome between the replication origin and late protein coding * Notice: This patent is Subject to a terminal dis Sequences is required in cis for both early gene expression claimer. and viral DNA replication, Nucleic Acids Research, vol. 9, No. 23, 1981, pp. 6231-6251. 21 Appl. No.: 08/989,397 Food and Drug Administration, HHS, 21 CFR Sections 22 Filed: Dec. 12, 1997 620.1-620.33. Treisman et al., Transformation of rat cells by an altered Related U.S. Application Data polyoma virus genome expressing only the middle-T pro tein, Nature, vol. 292, Aug. 13, 1981, pp. 595-600. 63 Continuation of application No. 08/357,138, Dec. 15, 1994, Cason et al., Toward Vaccines Against Human Papilloma Pat. No. 5,744,133, which is a continuation of application virus type-16 Genital Infections, Vaccine, vol.
    [Show full text]
  • Tidal Chain Reaction and the Origin of Replicating Biopolymers1
    InternationalJournalofAstrobiology00(0):1–13(2005)PrintedintheUnitedKingdom PROOFS 1 doi:10.1017/S1473550405002314 f 2005 Cambridge University Press Tidal chain reaction and the origin of replicating biopolymers1 Richard Lathe Pieta Research, PO Box 27069, Edinburgh EH10 5YW, UK e-mail: [email protected] Abstract:Template-directed polymer assembly is a likely feature of prebiotic chemistry, but the product productblocksfurthersynthesis, preventingamplificationandDarwinianselection.Nucleicacidsareunusualbecausechargerepulsion between opposing phosphates permits salt-dependent association and dissociation. It was postulated (Lathe, R. (2004). Fast tidal cycling and the origin of life. Icarus 168, 18–22) that tides at ocean shores provide the driving force for amplification: evaporative concentration promoted association/assembly on drying, while charge repulsion on tidal dilution drove dissociation. This permits exponential amplification by a process termed here the tidal chain reaction (TCR). The process is not strictly contingent upon tidal ebb and flow: circadian dews and rainfalls can produce identical cycling. Ionic strength-dependent association and dissociation of nucleic acids and possible prebiotic precursors are reviewed. Polymer scavenging, chain assembly by the recruitment of pre-formed fragments, is proposed as the primary mechanism of reiterative chain assembly. Parameters determining prebiotic polymer structure and amplification by TCR are discussed, with the suggestion that Darwinian selection may have operated on families
    [Show full text]
  • The Eurosterone DNA Array
    Background documents for presentation at: IBRO NEUROSCIENCE SCHOOL: Elba Workshop and Summer School May 4 - 10 Marina di Campo, Elba , Italy Neurobiology of stress in health and disease; Org: E. Ronald de Kloet (Leiden University) ELBA SUMMER SCHOOL The Eurosterone DNA Array Richard Lathe, University of Edinburgh Background documents 1. Mirnics, K. (2001) Microarrays in brain research; the good, the bad and the ugly. Nature Reiews Neuroscience 2, 445-447 2. Lathe, R. (1999) Mathematical analysis of ligation reactions and hybridisation parameters. Hons. Neuroscience and Pharmacology, University of Edinburgh. 3. Rose, K., Mason, J.O. and Lathe, R. (2002) Hybridization parameters revisited: solutions containing SDS. BioTechniques, in press. PERSPECTIVES the hybridization is repeated (each time start- OPINION ing with a new isolation), the more reliable the gene expression measurement becomes20,21. In our system, a single microarray measure- Microarrays in brain research: ment is likely to represent a biological differ- ence between samples at the 99% confidence the good, the bad and the ugly level if it shows a >1.9-fold difference between the fluorescent intensities. However, 1.3–1.4-fold changes in gene expression Károly Mirnics might be reliably detected across repeated experiments that involve the same samples3,20. Making sense of microarray data is a microarray assay due to isolation, labelling, There are arguments against reporting the complex process, in which the interpretation hybridization printing, scanning and image- ‘most changed’ 1% or 5% of genes. Such a of findings will depend on the overall analysis variation. Identification of the exact measurement neither accounts for the assay experimental design and judgement of the source of noise in each category, unless exces- noise, nor does it take into account that the investigator performing the analysis.
    [Show full text]
  • Herpes Infections and Dementia: Rebutting Alternative Fact
    Neurotherapeutics (2019) 16:176–179 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13311-018-00700-5 CURRENT PERSPECTIVES Herpes Infections and Dementia: Rebutting Alternative Fact Richard Lathe1 & Nian-Sheng Tzeng2 & Ruth Itzhaki3,4 Published online: 7 January 2019 # The Author(s) 2018 Abstract Recent commentary in Neurotherapeutics by Nath critically addresses the earlier report by Tzeng et al. that aggressive antiviral treatment (AVT) against herpes simplex virus (HSV) was associated with a later decrease in the incidence of Alzheimer’sdisease (AD). Nath raises issues that we respond to: we point out that (i) the treated group (probably with severe infection) is likely to harbor genetic risk alleles that predispose to both AD and HSV infection—the potential treatment bias cited by Nath would support (rather than challenge) the preventive effect of AVT; (ii) HSV is well known to establish persistent infection in the brain; and (iii) current AVTcompounds used to combat herpes viruses are highly specific for this class of viruses. Instead of “alternative fact,” the findings of Tzeng et al. argue in favor of clinical trials of AVT in AD. Keywords Alzheimer's disease . Herpes simplex virus . Acyclovir . APOE The recent concise commentary by Avindra Nath [1] discusses commentary, Dr Nath queries the results of this study (“alter- the report by one of us (Tzeng et al. [2]), in a recent issue of native fact”), and concludes that it might merely be safe to Neurotherapeutics that addressed a potential protective role treat “patients who develop herpes virus infections with ap- for antiviral therapy (AVT) in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In propriate antiviral drugs” [1], a proposal wisely consistent this retrospective study employing the Taiwan National with current practice.
    [Show full text]
  • Vaccination Against Tumor Cells Expressing Breast Cancer
    Proc. Nati. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 87, pp. 9498-9502, December 1990 Medical Sciences Vaccination against tumor cells expressing breast cancer epithelial tumor antigen (vaccine/recombinant vaccinia virus) MARA HAREUVENI*, CLAUDIE GAUTIER*, MARIE-PAULE KIENYt, DANIEL WRESCHNERt, PIERRE CHAMBONW, AND RICHARD LATHE*§ *Laboratoire de Gdn~tique Moldculaire des Eucaryotes-Unitd Associde 184 de Institut National de la Santd et de la Recherche Mddicale, Institut de Chimie Biologique, 11, rue Humann, 67085 Strasbourg Cddex, France; tTransg~ne SA, 11, rue de Molsheim, 67000 Strasbourg, France; and tDepartment of Microbiology, University of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel Contributed by Pierre Chambon, September 6, 1990 ABSTRACT Ninety-one percent of breast tumors aber- (14). H23 ETA can be detected in the body fluids of breast rantly express an epithelial tumor antigen (ETA) identified by cancer patients, where its level correlates with disease status monoclonal antibody H23. Vaccinia virus recombinants ex- and poor prognosis (15). cDNA (16, 17) and genomic (18) pressing tumor antigens have considerable promise in the cloning has revealed that a large central segment of the gene active immunotherapy of cancer, and we have evaluated the encoding H23 ETA consists of a multiple tandem repeat of a potential of vaccinia recombinants expressing the secreted (S) 60-nucleotide domain encoding a 20-amino acid sequence and cell-associated (transmembrane, T) forms of H23 ETA to motif(17, 18). The number ofrepeat units differs substantially elicit immunity to tumor cells expressing ETA. Tumorigenic between individuals and between alleles (16), and copy- ras-transformed Fischer rat fibroblast lines FR-S and FR-T, number variation has been observed between parent and expressing the S or T form of H23 ETA, respectively, were child (M.H., unpublished data).
    [Show full text]
  • Cuts and the Cutting Edge: British Science Funding and the Making of Animal Biotechnology in 1980S Edinburgh
    BJHS 50(4): 701–728, December 2017. © British Society for the History of Science 2017. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. doi:10.1017/S0007087417000826 Cuts and the cutting edge: British science funding and the making of animal biotechnology in 1980s Edinburgh DMITRIY MYELNIKOV* Abstract. The Animal Breeding Research Organisation in Edinburgh (ABRO, founded in 1945) was a direct ancestor of the Roslin Institute, celebrated for the cloning of Dolly the sheep. After a period of sustained growth as an institute of the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), ABRO was to lose most of its funding in 1981. This decision has been absorbed into the narrative of the Thatcherite attack on science, but in this article I show that the choice to restructure ABRO pre-dated major government cuts to agricultural research, and stemmed from the ARC’s wish to prioritize biotechnology in its portfolio. ABRO’s management embraced this wish and campaigned against the cuts based on a promise of biotechnological innovation, shifting its focus from farm animal genetics to the production of recombinant pharmaceuticals in sheep milk. By tracing interaction between government policies, research council agendas and local strategies, I show how novel research programmes such as genetic modification could act as a lifeline for struggling institutions. Abbreviations ABRO: Animal Breeding Research Organisation (Edinburgh, 1946–1986) ABRC: Advisory Board for the Research Councils ACARD: Advisory Council for Applied Research and Development AFRC: Agriculture and Food Research Council (1983–1994, formerly ARC) ARC: Agricultural Research Council (1931–1983) BBSRC: Biotechnologyand Biological Science Research Council (replaced AFRC in 1993) * Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of Manchester, Simon Building, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
    [Show full text]
  • 10.8 Books MH
    BOOKS & ARTS NATURE|Vol 442|10 August 2006 Shockley attributes the invention of the tran- soon morphed into his much-sensationalized sistor to Bardeen and Brattain, and to them NEW IN PAPERBACK claim that African-Americans are statistically alone. Bardeen had the key idea of minority Warped Passages: Unravelling the inferior in intelligence to those of European carrier injection that made amplification pos- Universe’s Hidden Dimensions descent. sible, and Brattain had the skills to put the con- by Lisa Randall (Penguin, £8.99) Had Shockley not been a Nobel laureate, his tacts close together. Yet without Shockley’s “The book’s peg — the possible existence of assertions would probably have been ignored. participation and leadership, it is equally clear extra dimensions in space — is easy enough to But a Nobel prize confers a ‘bully pulpit’, along that the invention would not have occurred as explain. But motivating the conjecture requires with the perception, by people in general and soon as it did, and his later independent inven- a grand tour of some of the toughest and most the press in particular, of being an expert in tion of the junction transistor was to emerge as abstract topics in science.” Paul Davies, Nature everything. However, as the physicist and the most practical embodiment of the device 435,1161–1162 (2005). pundit Bob Park has observed, “A Nobel prize for the next decade. in physics is not an inoculation against silly Almost immediately after the discovery of Madame Bovary’s Ovaries: A Darwinian behaviour,” and there are plenty of examples to the point-contact transistor, Shockley dissoci- Look at Literature back that up.
    [Show full text]
  • Herpes Viruses and Senile Dementia: First Population Evidence for a Causal Link
    Edinburgh Research Explorer Herpes Viruses and Senile Dementia: First Population Evidence for a Causal Link Citation for published version: Lathe, R & Itzhakia, RF 2018, 'Herpes Viruses and Senile Dementia: First Population Evidence for a Causal Link', Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-180266 Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 10.3233/JAD-180266 Link: Link to publication record in Edinburgh Research Explorer Document Version: Peer reviewed version Published In: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via the Edinburgh Research Explorer is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy The University of Edinburgh has made every reasonable effort to ensure that Edinburgh Research Explorer content complies with UK legislation. If you believe that the public display of this file breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 28. Sep. 2021 1 Commentary. J. Alzheimer Disease, in press 2 3 Herpes Viruses and Senile Dementia: First Population 4 Evidence for a Causal Link 5 6 Ruth F. Itzhaki a,b, * and Richard Lathe c, * 7 8 a Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK 9 b Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, UK 10 c Division of Infection and Pathway Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Little France, Edinburgh, 11 UK 12 13 *Correspondence to: E-mail: [email protected] (R.F.Itzhaki); [email protected] (R.
    [Show full text]
  • Microbes and Alzheimer's Disease
    Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease 51 (2016) 979–984 979 DOI 10.3233/JAD-160152 IOS Press Editorial Microbes and Alzheimer’s Disease Ruth F. Itzhakia,∗, Richard Latheb,∗, Brian J. Balinc, Melvyn J. Balld, Elaine L. Bearere, Heiko Braakf , Maria J. Bullidog, Chris Carterh, Mario Clericii, S. Louise Cosbyj, Kelly Del Tredicif , Hugh Fieldk, Tamas Fulopl, Claudio Grassim, W. Sue T. Griffinn,Jurgen¨ Haasb, Alan P. Hudsono, Angela R. Kamerp, Douglas B. Kellq, Federico Licastror, Luc Letenneurs, Hugo Lovheim¨ t, Roberta Mancusou, Judith Miklossyv, Carola Otthw, Anna Teresa Palamarax, George Perryy, Christopher Prestonz, Etheresia Pretoriusaa, Timo Strandbergbb, Naji Tabetcc, Simon D. Taylor-Robinsondd and Judith A. Whittum-Hudsonee aFaculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, UK bDivision of Infection and Pathway Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Little France, Edinburgh, UK cCenter for Chronic Disorders of Aging, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia, USA dDepartment of Pathology (Neuropathology), Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA eDepartment of Pathology, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA f Clinical Neuroanatomy Section, Department of Neurology, Center for Biomedical Research, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany gCentro de Biologia Molecular ‘Severo Ochoa’ (CSIC-UAM), Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, and Centro de Investigacion en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Madrid, Spain hPolygenic Pathways, Hastings, East Sussex,
    [Show full text]
  • Genetics in the United Kingdom — the Last Half-Century
    Heredity7l (1993) 111—118 Genetical Society of Great Britain Genetics in the United Kingdom — The Last Half-Century J. R. S. FINCHAM Thisyear's 16th International Congress of Genetics in Birmingham is the first to be held in the United Kingdom since the 7th (Edinburgh) Congress in 1939, just before the outbreak of war. This historical essay is an attempt to chart the most important developments in U.K. genetics between these two Congresses or, more precisely, during the post-war period. I have tried to identify the institutions and schools that have had the greatest influence on the growth of our subject, and to trace the connections between them. I must to some extent be biased by my own partial view of the field, and I apologize for any serious omissions. University, and establishing the fungus Aspergillus The early post-war scene nidulans as a model microbial eukaryote for genetic In1945therewere only a few centres in the U.K. for studies. The Cambridge University Botany School was teaching and research in genetics. There was the John another growth point for fungal genetics; Harold Innes Horticultural Institution (now the John Innes Whitehouse had already completed his Ph.D. work on Institute), then located in Merton, South London, with Neurospora sitophila and David Catcheside was about C.D. Darlington as Director. There were three institu- to import Neurospora crassa from CalTech. In R. A. tions concerned with plant breeding: the Plant Breed- Fisher's Genetics Department, L. L. Cavalli-Sforza was ing Institute in Cambridge and the Welsh and Scottish starting the work on the genetics of E.
    [Show full text]