Cell
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The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the philanthropy launched by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, drew attention with its stated goal of helping to "cure, manage, or treat all diseases" by the end of the century. They intend to do it through funding basic research and addressing gaps in biomedical technology.
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Looking back at the time spent in graduate school and postdoctoral training can be illuminating. We asked postdoctoral researchers to tell us what kind of advice they would give to their younger selves.
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The emergence of Zika virus in the Americas and Caribbean created an urgent need for vaccines to reduce transmission and prevent disease, particularly the devastating neurodevelopmental defects that occur in utero. Rapid advances in Zika immunity and the development of vaccine candidates provide cautious optimism that preventive measures are possible.
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Patients with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) commonly experience aberrant tactile sensitivity, yet the neural alterations underlying somatosensory dysfunction and the extent to which tactile deficits contribute to ASD characteristics are unknown. We report that mice harboring mutations in Mecp2, Gabrb3, Shank3, and Fmr1 genes associated with ASDs in humans exhibit altered tactile discrimination and hypersensitivity to gentle touch. Deletion of Mecp2 or Gabrb3 in peripheral somatosensory neurons causes mechanosensory dysfunction through loss of GABAA receptor-mediated presynaptic inhibition of inputs to the CNS. ⋯ Restoring Mecp2 expression exclusively in the somatosensory neurons of Mecp2-null mice rescues tactile sensitivity, anxiety-like behavior, and social interaction deficits, but not lethality, memory, or motor deficits. Thus, mechanosensory processing defects contribute to anxiety-like behavior and social interaction deficits in ASD mouse models. PAPERCLIP.