【推荐1】Researchers discovered a new function for a common protein in the brain—a development that throws new light on the mysteries of the mind and holds promising implications for the treatment of memory loss and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The protein, called RPT6, normally performs necessary housekeeping in the brain’s hippocampus (海马体) by working as part of a larger protein complex called the proteasome to destroy other proteins. But researchers in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ School of Animal Sciences recently noticed this protein behaving in a previously undetected way.

“We have found that RPT6 is capable of this completely different function where it can combine with DNA and increase the expression of other genes or proteins during memory formation,” said Tim Jarome, associate professor of neurobiology. “This indicates that RPT6 plays a dual (双重的) role in memory formation, both inside and outside the proteasome complex.”

Gene expression is critical to memory formation. It helps to build the neural networks needed to form and strengthen memories. The discovery, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, opens up new avenues for exploration of how RPT6 functions in the brain and how it can be controlled to improve memory and reduce the harm of memory disorders like PTSD.

Researchers don’t yet understand why RPT6 has this dual function or how it is helping to control the cells that form a memory. “There has to be something else that’s working with it to control gene expression,” Jarome said. “We are trying to understand now how it’s doing that.”

Hopefully, the discovery will be helpful to the ongoing research in Jarome’s lab, which focuses on understanding and treating memory disorders.

“The discovery of RPT6’s new function is leading us somewhere new in revealing the complexities of the brain and how we learn and store memories,” said research scientist Kayla Farrell. “We believe that this will help to inform new directions into understanding how gene expression is controlled during memory. In the long term, this could lead to potential treatment of controlling and improving memory.”

【推荐1】CHARITY HONORS SON’S MEMORY

Nonprofit providing gifts to 18 to 39-year-olds is raising memory

RAMONA, Calif. — Before he died from cancer at age 29, Silas River Bennett spent his final months taking photographs of the world around him, emailing friends, buying Christmas gifts for his sisters and encouraging his family to give to the needy. “What was important to him was to have a sense of himself outside of cancer,” said his mom, Lorranie Kerz of Ramona.

Bennett went to the hospital in fall 2007 with severe back pains. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer that had spread to his bones. Doctors believed the cancer was environmentally caused, perhaps by exposure to some poisonous gas in the basement where he lived or poisons in the paints he used as a painter.

Kerz said her son was a man with a great sense of humor and a very creative mind. He had an “electric intellect” who loved debating, watching “Jeopardy!” — a game show on TV and telling stories with his photographs. After Bennett died in May 2008, Kerz wanted to honor the creative spirit and generosity of her son, whose nickname was “Sy”. The result was Sy’s Fund, a Romona-based all-volunteer national nonprofit that has fulfilled the wishes of more than 250 people aged 18 to 39 who are battling cancer. Sy’s Fund provides them with small gifts — such as laptops, cameras, guitar lessons, or printers — to lift their spirits and refocus their energies in a positive direction.

The group raises money through three fundraisers each year, such as golf tournaments and 5K races. This year, because of the COVID-19, they’re trying a virtual fundraiser for the first time. After registering online, participants must download the “Let’s Roam” app to their phones to donate. For those who want to apply for a wish grant, visit sysfund.org. The organization is also seeking more volunteer members. For details, email Kerz at lorraine@sysfund.org.

【推荐2】It’s a few weeks since both the United States and the European Union confirmed the hottest average global temperature ever recorded. Intense and unusual heat waves, along with fires, storms, and other extreme weather events, seemed to make 2023 the year when climate change became more disturbing.

Of course, climate change is more complicated than things simply getting hotter, but the overall warming of the earth is perhaps the most direct consequence of the carbon dioxide we have released (释放) into the atmosphere since the 19th century. What to do about this problem is the subject of this month’s cover story, in which writer Sam Howe Verhovek and photographer Davide Monteleone take a closer look at carbon removal.

Ideas for how to remove carbon from the atmosphere and store or use it in some way have been around for a long time, but we’ve made little progress. Now we may be at the point where urgency, combined with technological advances, market demands, and creative vision, is making carbon removal a better choice for helping us manage the climate crisis.

Many environmentalists argue that carbon removal is a red herring (鲱鱼) that take our attention away from the need to dramatically reduce our emissions(排放). The first industrial revolution got us into this mess; maybe a second one can assist us with getting out of it.

【推荐3】There is nothing like a hug from grandma. But that special gift has become much less common — and thus more valuable — over the last 12 months. Out of concern for the safety of their loved ones, many people have been waiting months and months for that priceless moment when they will get to see their grandparents again. For one little boy in Rose City, that reunion(团聚) finally happened!

Kelsey recently posted a video of her 3-year-old son John having a surprise gathering with his grandma, Nana Jane. Because of the epidemic(流行病), the pair hadn’t seen each other since Christmas 2019 — 17 long months ago.

As Kelsey told a newspaper, “All he ever said was, ‘I wanna go to Nanas. I miss my Nan.’ And it just breaks our heart.”

The turning point came when Jane finally received her second dose of the COVID-19(疫苗)! Kelsey and Jane immediately got to planning, and Kelsey decided to take John playground after day care where Nana Jane would be waiting!

In a video, we can hear Kelsey say, “Go see her!” Then little John begins running toward his grandma before she throws her arms around him.

“I cry every time I see it, I do.” Jane said.

It’s enough to leave the audience in tears, too — not only out of joy for John and Nana Jane, but also out of excitement for the day when we will experience the same kind of reunion with our loved ones!