This week in ASU research news:
Down Syndrome might give insight into underlying mechanisms within Alzheimer's disease
These two neurodegenerative diseases might have more in common than one might think.
Antonella Caccamo, an assistant research professor, and her team are looking at factors that seem to link the two illnesses.
The researchers were granted $3.1 million from the National Institutes of Health and are planning on diving into the effects of mTOR, a complex protein, which has been linked to a number of illnesses and the development of plaques and tangles, which could be responsible for the onset of dementia, among other illnesses.
New tool helps make the most out of limited conservation funds
ASU researchers developed a new tool that can help conservation scientists decide on ways to use limited funds in order to conserve the greatest number of species.
Recovery Actions Explorer, a web application developed with the help of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services, helps determine potential outcomes of alternative resource allocation strategies.
According to a recent publication in Science, the researchers created the tool to help endangered animal species recovery.
Mining the dark web can help prevent cyberattacks
In light of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, ASU cybersecurity professionals are discussing strategies to take down hackers by scouring through the dark web.
These researchers are scraping the communications from cybercriminals on the dark web to use against them.
In an ASU KEDtalk, Shakarian shared dark web mining strategies.
This week from the science and technology desk:
Weekend storm slammed Arizona with heavy rain, flooding
A storm system moved into Arizona last weekend, marking the 11th rainiest day on record in Phoenix. As the cluster of storms approached, they displayed a stunning display of lightning and a shelf cloud.
Relevant quote: “It really moved very slowly over southeast California as it deepened, and because of that, it rained over Phoenix for several hours." – said Larry Hopper, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.
In light of climate change debates, ASU continues sustainability efforts
ASU takes pride in its sustainability on campus, and one the University's next focus is on diminishing food waste. ASU is planning to addressing various food insecurity issues among the ASU population in coming years.
Relevant quote: "It honestly makes me feel like there’s hope for the future. ASU is a huge institution with a lot of influence, and it has been a model to other universities to take a stance on the challenges that we are facing." – said Dana Martin, a senior studying sustainability.
Reach the reporter at jlmyer10@asu.edu or follow @jessiemy94 on Twitter.
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