1. Scientists have identified a key protein in the development of Alzheimer's disease which could prove critical in slowing or even halting the condition's progress. In tests on mice, a research team led by University of Colorado pharmacologist Tyler Martinez found that blocking a protein called murine double-minute 2 (Mdm2) stopped the destruction of the protrusions or 'dendritic spines' and junctions (synapses) that aid communication between brain cells. This degeneration is triggered by the build-up of a substance called amyloid-beta, which has long been linked to clogging up the brain in people with Alzheimer's. When Mdm2 was deactivated, amyloid-beta no longer had the same effect. (Sources: sciencealert.com, en.wickipedia.org, italics mine)
2. Vast swaths of the United States are at risk of running short of power as electricity-hungry data centers and clean-technology factories proliferate around the country, leaving utilities and regulators grasping for credible plans to expand the nation’s creaking power grid. In Georgia, demand for industrial power is surging to record highs, with the projection of electricity use for the next decade now 17 times what it was only recently. Arizona Public Service, the largest utility in that state, is also struggling to keep up, projecting it will be out of transmission capacity before the end of the decade absent major upgrades. Northern Virginia needs the equivalent of several large nuclear power plants to serve all the new data centers planned and under construction. Texas, where electricity shortages are already routine on hot summer days, faces the same dilemma. The soaring demand is touching off a scramble to try to squeeze more juice out of an aging power grid while pushing commercial customers to go to extraordinary lengths to lock down energy sources, such as building their own power plants. (Source: washingtonpost.com)
3. The United Nations’ atomic watchdog reiterated demands for Russia to return Europe’s largest nuclear power plant to Ukrainian control amid concern that deteriorating safety could lead to a meltdown. A majority of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-member board of governors passed a formal resolution of censure against Russia late Thursday. That came a day after Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi lauded the country for being the “No. 1 vendor of nuclear technology in the world” and held talks with President Vladimir Putin in Russia’s Sochi. (Source: bloomberg.com)
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to News Items to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.