Blood tests for Alzheimer’s: Two experts on why new studies are encouraging [Click here to view this message in your web-browser](.
Edition: US
7 August 2019
[The Conversation](
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
[Lynne Anderson]
A note from...
Lynne Anderson
Senior Health + Medicine Editor
One of the best parts of my job is that I get to go straight to academic doctors and researchers to learn about medical topics in the news. It’s far better than a traditional interview though, because the experts take their time to explain their work for readers, not just for me.
With today’s story about blood tests that might aid in early detection of Alzheimer’s, I got really lucky. Two of the nation’s leading experts in Alzheimer’s, Todd Golde and Steven DeKosky of the University of Florida, generously agreed to take time from their busy practices and research to [explain why the tests could be a game changer](.
Also today: [growing mini-livers in the lab](, [learning from the election of 1860]( and [counting ticks here and there](.
Top story
Many older people and their families worry about a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Nadya Chetah/Shutterstock.com
[Blood tests for Alzheimer’s: Two experts on why new studies are encouraging](
Todd Golde, University of Florida; Steven DeKosky, University of Florida
Alzheimer's is one of the most dreaded and difficult diseases, and it has been notoriously difficult to diagnose. Could that change in the coming years with the advent of new blood tests?
Science + Technology
-
[Mass shootings aren’t growing more common – and evidence contradicts common stereotypes about the killers](
Christopher J. Ferguson, Stetson University
Mentally ill, white supremacist video game-playing men are pushing rates of mass homicide ever higher in the US? The real data is more nuanced than common misperceptions suggest.
-
[How to grow human mini-livers in the lab to help solve liver disease](
Alejandro Soto-Gutiérrez, University of Pittsburgh
Almost all drugs are tested in living animals before human clinical trials. But most of the time what works in mice doesn't work in humans. That's why lab-grown human livers may be so valuable.
Economy + Business
-
[The US-China trade war: 5 essential reads](
Nicole Zelniker, The Conversation
The US-China trade war shows no signs of slowing down. Here's what readers need to know.
-
[Facebook’s Libra: it’s not the ‘crypto’ that’s the issue, it’s the organisation behind it](
Bill Maurer, University of California, Irvine; Daniel Tischer, University of Bristol
Alarm bells should ring over a global currency that is run by an exclusive club that serves its investor-owners, not the public good.
Politics + Society
-
[Police are more likely to kill men and women of color](
Frank Edwards, Rutgers University Newark
According to a new study, about 52 of every 100,000 men and boys, and about 3 of every 100,000 women and girls, are killed by police in the US.
-
[What 1860 and 1968 can teach America about the 2020 presidential election](
Austin Sarat, Amherst College
The 2020 US election could set a record for ugliness and division. Two previous elections provide important context for what that division can mean.
Ethics + Religion
-
[French cannabis legalization debate ignores race, religion and the mass incarceration of Muslims](
David A Guba, Jr., Bard College
Muslims make up 9% of France's population and half of all its prisoners – many convicted on drug charges. But social justice isn't part of the country's growing debate on legalization.
Environment + Energy
-
[A tick detective wants to understand what drives tick abundance](
David Allen, Middlebury
A tick expert explains his work trying to understand why the abundance of the parasites vary so much from location to location and year to year.
Most read on site
-
[Parts of the Pacific Northwest’s Cascadia fault are more seismically active than others – imaging data suggests why](
Miles Bodmer, University of Oregon; Doug Toomey, University of Oregon
A new array of seismometers provides a glimpse of what's happening deep beneath this geologic fault. New data help explain why the north and south of the region are more seismically active than the middle.
-
[Will Trump’s trade war with China ever end?](
Charles Hankla, Georgia State University
Trump’s endgame for the US-China trade war still seems elusive as the conflict continues to escalate.
-
[Human breast milk may help babies tell time via circadian signals from mom](
Darby Saxbe, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences; Jennifer Hahn-Holbrook, University of California, Merced
Breast milk contains ingredients in concentrations that change over the course of the day. Researchers think milk is chrononutrition, carrying molecular messages to help set a baby's internal clock.
Today’s chart
- [Enable images to see the chart](
From the article: [Mass shootings aren't growing more common – and evidence contradicts common stereotypes about the killers](
[Christopher J. Ferguson] Christopher J. Ferguson
Stetson University
Know people who may be interested in The Conversation's stories? [Click here to forward this newsletter to them]( and ask them to sign up at
[Follow us on Twitter.]( [Join us on Facebook.](
You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation](.
Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe instantly](. We’ll miss you.
89 South Street - Suite 202
Boston, MA 02111