Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia, “a general term for a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life.” It accounts for 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases. “Alzheimer's disease results from a combination of genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors that affect the brain over time.” Two reasons why it is caused is from plaque and tangles. Proteins “clumps of a protein called beta-amyloid may damage and destroy brain cells in several ways, including interfering with cell-to-cell communication.” While it is not certain that this is the cause, it is the prime suspect as to why brain cell death. When beta-amyloids clump together they form plaque. Beta-amyloids come from larger proteins found in the fatty membrane that surrounds nerve cells in the brain. Beta-amyloids are most dangerous when they group together. Tau proteins also can get tangled along the way, and when this happens, communication between cells is nearly impossible due the structure holding them up degrading. “The peptides [beta-amyloids] result from the amyloid precursor protein (APP), which is cleaved by beta secretase and gamma secretase to yield Aβ [beta-amyloid].” The gene for amyloid precursor protein is located on chromosome 21.
Possibilities
Hypothesis
The Devices
Problems with the devices
Bioethics
These are very important ethical questions that need to be put into account. Science is a socially and ethically embedded enterprise. Science, along with technology and engineering, should not be separated from ethics. Science is the co-creation of these ideas—proving that science and ethics are complimentary. Comments are closed.
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