--- title: "Scientists May Have Found the Molecular-Level Cause for Alzheimer’s" description: "Researchers may have found the molecular-level cause for Alzheimer's by looking deeper into the DNA tangles in the brains of dementia patients. " date: "2021-11-29" modified: "2021-11-29" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/scientists-cause-alzheimers" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Studies" tags: - "Alzheimer's" - "brains" - "dementia" - "dna" --- # Scientists May Have Found the Molecular-Level Cause for Alzheimer’s ![Researchers may have found the molecular-level cause for Alzheimer's by looking deeper into the DNA tangles in the brains of dementia patients. ]() *\Image: Getty Images\* Researchers may have found the molecular-level cause for Alzheimer's disease by looking deeper into the DNA tangles in the brains of dementia patients. New research by scientists [at the University of California — Riverside]() indicate that the key to understanding Alzheimer's may lie in the "tau" proteins that make up these tangles, found in the brain of patients with dementia. Doctors generally determine that a patient has Alzheimer's or dementia if they find both brain plaques and tangles inside grey matter cells. But studies suggesting that one-fifth of people with brain plaques do not experience dementia led the UCR researchers to take a closer look at the understudied tau protein in an attempt to understand why it tangles and deposits the way it does. https://twitter.com/Thepurplelilac/status/1440391030927364100 Explaining the study, UCR Chemistry Professor Ryan Julian compared isomers, or different ways a single molecule and be shaped, to human hands. "Hands are isomers of each other, mirror images but not exact copies," Julian said. "Isomers can actually have a handedness." While the proteins inside the DNA of living organisms are normally made up completely of "left-handed" amino acids, the tau proteins found in dementia patients were "right-handed," which is unusual. What's more, the tau proteins of the brain samples UCR studied — donated by people who had plaque buildups but no dementia symptoms — were only left-handed. "If you try to put a right-handed glove on your left hand, it doesn't work too well," Julian said. "It's a similar problem in biology; molecules don't work the way they're supposed to after a while because a left-handed glove can actually convert into a right-handed glove that doesn't fit." This microscopic revelation could have huge implications for Alzheimer's research, as Professor Julian and his team prepare to study how and why the brains of dementia patients don't "clear out" the defective tau proteins as fast as usual. And, just maybe, it could lead to new treatments for a devastating disease. **Read more:** [Scientists discover potential cause of Alzheimer's disease]() \[University of California — Riverside*\]* **More on Alzheimer's research:** *[Scientists May Have Discovered the Cause of Alzheimer's Disease]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()