Amanda Troy 

12/19/19

AP Biology
Current Event 12

Saey, Tina Hesman. “Prions Clog Cell Traffic in Brains with Neurodegenerative Diseases.” Science News, 11 Dec. 2019, www.sciencenews.org/article/prion-proteins-clog-cell-traffic-brains-neurodegenerative-diseases.

For my current event, I read an article titled, “Prions clog cell traffic in brains with neurodegenerative diseases” by Tina Hesman Saey. This article discusses a new study revealing clumps of misfolded proteins causing traffic jams in brain cells. These jams may have deadly impacts in neurodegenerative diseases. Tai Chaiamarit, a cell biologist at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, reported clusters of prions blocking passage of “crucial cargo” along intracellular roadways in brain cells. Prions are misshapen versions of a normal brain protein, grouped together in big aggregates that are “hallmarks” of degenerative diseases. Axons are long projections of nerve cells that carry electrical signals to other nerves. Chaiamarit and other colleagues found that Axons are the sites for prion traffic jams.  As more prions clump together, they result in swollen bulges that make the axon, “look like a snake that has just swallowed a whole meal” (Hesman, 1). Prion clumps disrupt outbound traffic, causing kinesin-1 and mitochondria to jump the microtubule tracks in the swollen sections, the researchers discovered.

Brain cells are alive before the traffic jam starts. As stated before, the protein traffic jams may have deadly impacts in neurodegenerative diseases. Based on these new findings, researchers believe that the  jams can result in cell death later on. It is still unclear as to why these clumps of proteins are harmful to neurons, but this new study may provide insight into what actually goes wrong in neurodegenerative diseases. This is something that will impact our society in an immensely positive way. 

The article’s main strength was the comprehensive explanation of the science behind the new study which included findings of prion proteins and axons. The article also utilized metaphors when explaining the different aspects behind the science in order to relate to the reader and make the study easier to understand, such as when the axon was compared to a snake that has just swallowed its meal. Something that I wish the article did was go into more depth on what impacts this will have on our society. This is something that was briefly mentioned, but it something that could have been elaborated on and would have created a more intriguing, eye-opening article.