Researchers Restore Youthful Memory In Aging Mice

An anonymous reader writes "German neuroscientists made a breakthrough in 'age-related cognitive decline', a common condition that often begins in one's late 40s (especially declarative memory — the ability to recall facts and experiences). Their new study identifies a genetic 'switch' for the cluster of learning and memory genes that cause memory impairment in aging mice. By injecting an enzyme, the team 'flipped' the switch to its on position for older mice, giving them the memory and learning performance they'd enjoyed when they were young. Now the team ultimately hopes to recover seemingly lost long-term memory in human patients." The video, which explains the gene flipping mechanism, is worth a watch (2:18).

coorelation != causation

[Anonymous Coward]

Just because you injected enzymes into the rats, doesn't mean that the enzymes caused the increased memory effect

ok, ok, I'm joking. At least we got the stupid "coorelation != causation" comment out of the way early on.

Re:Hmmmm

[phantomfive]

If you're that young and already having memory problems (assuming you don't have a brain tumor or something), it's lifestyle related. Get out and exercise, eat well, there's probably some nutrient you're missing. Eat lot's of broccoli. Sleep enough. Don't under-estimate the brain wasting effects of alcohol or cocaine. I don't know you so I can't say exactly what your personal problem is.

A lot of people, for example, don't eat enough vegetables. They'll eat a salad once a week or an apple every few days or something and hope that's good enough. It's not. You may not notice the effects right away, but over time they will add up as your body uses up its stored nutrients.

Same thing with sleep. When you are in college you can get away with binge drinking on the weekends and never sleeping (actually you'll notice the effects of that right away, but they might not be overwhelming), but after a few years you're going to need to take a break and rebuild your energy. A lot of people hit 28 and think they are getting old and tired, but the truth is old-age doesn't set in that early, they're just seeing the effects of not treating their body right. Do what you need to do to rebuild your energy (personally I suggest distance running, and this book is really great motivation [google.com], but do what works for you).

Re:Hmmmm

[bennomatic]

I'm totally with you, esp. on the last point. My wife and I had a kid a year ago, and sleep hasn't been the same since. Over the same period of time, I've learned for the first time in my life what it means to have to be humble about my memory. Used to be near photographic. Now it's all a jumble. Shows you what 13 months of 5 hours a night of sleep (with the occasional additional nap to almost catch up) will do to you.

Article is Also Phenomenal

[Iskender]

I'd just like to point out that this is a good article:
1. It's news for nerds.
2. It goes into some technical detail (molecules named)
3. It mentions both possible advantages and disadvantages of the approach.
4. It has both reasonable amounts of text and a decent video. (read:content)

Really, this is probably the kind of article people refer to when they're whining about other ones.

I'd love some feedback from the people who go on about kdawson only posting crap, too. Is this crap? Or maybe you prefer to cherry-pick the bad articles instead to hate on the hated editor of the month/year?

Some things are best left forgotten.

[Anachragnome]

Some things are best left forgotten.

Unless they can do this selectively, I'll pass. One gets to a certain age...well, the baggage seems to fade away yet the really good stuff remains clear.

I think this is a good thing, and in my opinion quite possibly a natural function of the human mind--a defense mechanism, perhaps.

Re:Hmmmm

[phantomfive]

lol someone got hit in the head with the dumb stick today and spewed out his wrath on Slashdot. Since when did you go from writing logical, reasonable posts to writing ad hominem crap? There are tons of studies that show that exercise is good for you, and that eating a healthy diet is good for you, and that sleeping well is good for you. Stop being lazy and asking for evidence when you can find it so easily yourself.

Re:Article is Also Phenomenal

[SydShamino]

I'll link to your post here next time I see someone bitching about kdawson.

Now, I need to go read the article you've successfully hyped..