Cat Brains Age Like Ours — And Could Help Scientists To Understand Cognitive Decline

To unlock the secrets of human ageing, researchers might do better to look to the pet napping on their couch than to a laboratory mouse.

As cats age, their brains show signs of atrophy and cognitive decline that more closely resemble the deterioration seen in ageing humans than do the changes in the brains of ageing mice, according to findings presented last month at the Lake Conference on Comparative and Evolutionary Neurobiology near Seattle, Washington.

The results are part of a large project, called Translating Time, that compares brain development across more than 150 mammal species, and is now expanding to include data on ageing. The hope is that the data will aid researchers trying to crack the causes of age-related diseases, particularly conditions that affect the brain, such as Alzheimer’s disease.

A Historic Milestone: Two People Communicate in Dreams

Generative AI Is Rapidly Evolving: How Governments Can Keep Pace

Brief – Generating Confusion: Stress-Testing AI Chatbot Responses on Voting with a Disability

Even as the “year of elections” draws to a close, the United States’ elections loom. From cyberattacks to mis- and disinformation spread on social media by foreign and domestic actors, digital technology has impacted the discourse, information environment, and perceived legitimacy of American elections in recent cycles. In 2024, the growth in popularity and availability of chatbots powered by artificial intelligence (AI) introduces a new and largely untested vector for election-related information and, as our research found, misinformation.

Many communities are concerned that digitally available misinformation will impact the ability of community members to vote, including the disability community. However, up until this point, there has been little research done surrounding the integrity of the online information environment for voters with disabilities, and even less focus on the quality and integrity of information relating to voting with a disability that one can receive from a generative AI chatbot.

FDA Gives Patients Hope After Approving Brain Cancer Drug With Duke Ties

Patients with low-grade gliomas now have a new treatment option for the first time in decades.

The FDA approved vorasidenib earlier this month for adult and pediatric patients 12 and older with Grade2 astrocytoma or oligodendroglioma.

It’s the culmination of 16 years of research and clinical trials involving Duke researchers.

“I have been working on malignant brain tumors for 50-60 years and it is extremely gratifying to finally have a breakthrough we know is going to help a significant number of patients,” said Dr. Darell Bigner with The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke.

Back in 2008, Bigner, in collaboration with a team at Johns Hopkins, discovered a mutated gene IDH was frequently found in brain cancers, like gliomas.

“This IDH mutant protein, it produces essentially a chemical that causes tumor cells to grow,” Dr. Katy Peters explained. “What the drug does is it actually inhibits that mutant protein.”