What the scientists are saying…
Hope for Alzheimer’s drug Hopes that Alzheimer’s could soon become a treatable condition have been raised by – ironically – a large-scale clinical trial that failed, reports the New Scientist. The phase III trial involved nearly 900 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s, who were either given a new drug, LMTX, or a placebo. In the majority of cases, LMTX was found to have made no difference to the participants’ rate of cognitive decline. However, in a small subset of patients, made up of people who were not taking any of the existing medicines for Alzeimer’s (none of which are very effective), the drug seemed to have slowed the progress of the disease by about 80% by the end of the 15-month trial, the researchers said. Brain scans also showed lower levels of atrophy in these patients, who accounted for about 15% of the total. More tests are now needed to confirm the findings.
Secrets of early human survival We know we should avoid inhaling smoke – yet it may have been our tolerance for it that gave early humans their evolutionary edge over the Neanderthals. Scientists say that humans, uniquely among primates, carry a genetic mutation that makes us able to tolerate toxic chemicals that come from burning wood and other materials; this would have enabled our ancestors to survive in smoke-filled caves, in a way that Neanderthals couldn’t. “It’s the woman and children hanging out in the cave who are going to be susceptible to smoke,” said Dr Gary Perdew, of Pennsylvania State University in the US. “And if you don’t make it to reproductive age, that’s not good.” The ability to light fires inside would have given humans a source of warmth, and – crucially – access to cooked food, and with that, a wider range of nutrients that may have propelled brain growth. But the fact only we developed the mutation was down to luck, says Perdew. It could have been the Neanderthals, but it wasn’t. “It happened for us, that’s why we’re here.” Another reason for our survival may have been that we wrapped up warm: researchers in Scotland and Canada have found evidence that during the Ice Age, our ancestors wore closefitting coats lined with wolverine fur; wolverine bones have been found at many early human sites, as have bone needles and pelt scrapers. But there is no such evidence that Neanderthals made clothes, suggesting that, at best, they draped themselves in skins. That wouldn’t just have made life uncomfortable, says The Daily Telegraph: it would also have limited their scope for hunting and foraging for food in colder weather and northly areas.
The dangers of deep space The astronauts who embarked on the missions to the Moon in the 1960s and 1970s knew there were risks involved. What they could not have known was that one of the bigger risks was of dying of a heart attack, years after returning to Earth. You would expect astronauts to have relatively low levels of cardiovascular illness; and when researchers examined the fates of 77 astronauts, they found that for most, this was the case. Those who had orbited Earth at low levels, or who had been trained but never flown, were about half as likely to die of heart disease as the general population. But among the handful who went to the Moon in the 1960s and 1970s – the only humans to have travelled beyond the protective magnetic shield around Earth, and experienced deep space radiation – cardiovascular rates were far higher. Three of the seven Apollo astronauts who had died, including Neil Armstrong, died of heart complications. The researchers also found that when mice were exposed to deep space levels of radiation, they suffered significant damage to their blood vessels. The study was small and the evidence is not conclusive, but, say the team, it should give Nasa pause for thought about manned missions to Mars.
Revolutionary asthma treatment The first new asthma treatment for 20 years has been hailed by scientists as a “game changer”. At present, sufferers rely mostly on Ventolin inhalers and steroids, which can have a series of side effects. But a new pill, Fevipiprant, has produced excellent results in clinical trials at the University of Leicester. Taken twice a day, Fevipiprant stops inflammatory blood cells from getting into patients’ airways, while also repairing the airway linings. Trial results suggest that the drug could halve the risk of suffering an asthma attack, saving hundreds of lives each year among the UK’S 5.4 million asthmatics.