New exoplanet represents a small leap in the search for alien life

In May, NASA scientists discovered a new extrasolar planet, or exoplanet, that could be a new potential location for finding alien life. Named Gliese 12 b, the exoplanet is a relatively close neighbour to us at an astronomical scale, being 40 light-years away (equivalent to a mere 378 trillion kilometres).

The discovery of the Gliese 12 b by NASA’s TESS telescope was a rare encounter due to its potential for habitability. The exoplanet is estimated to have a width 1.1 times that of Earth so may have a similar makeup and surface environment. It is also within its star’s “Goldilocks Zone” - the region around a star that is “just right” for life due to being the right temperature for liquid water. Despite having a much closer orbit to its star, the star is a red dwarf, a much smaller and cooler star. This results in Gliese 12 b having an estimated surface temperature of around 42ºC - a temperature at which many organisms on Earth can comfortably survive.

"Gliese 12 b [has] an estimated surface temperature of around 42ºC - a temperature at which many organisms on Earth can comfortably survive"

However, whether Gliese 12 b has an atmosphere is a key consideration in whether it is habitable. Currently, it remains a target for the James Webb Space Telescope to determine this. In the meantime, it is the closest known planet with a similar size and temperature to Earth, so is an unparalleled candidate for extraterrestrial life beyond our solar system.

Optimism around new blood test for Alzheimer’s disease

In July, biomedical researchers moved closer to producing an affordable and reliable way to test for Alzheimer’s disease. New research found that a simple blood test looking for proteins characteristic of the disease is accurate in diagnosing the condition.

These tests, which look for traces of beta amyloid brain proteins that have leaked into the bloodstream, could provide a more simple and accurate way of identifying Alzheimer’s in those who already have cognitive difficulties. As around a third of cases of dementia are not caused by Alzheimer’s disease, the test could be crucial in identifying Alzheimer’s cases, allowing for more effective treatment. Previous methods relied on expensive brain scans or an uncomfortable spinal tap, so the possibility of an accessible blood test could be a huge change in the diagnosis of the disease.

"the test could be crucial in identifying Alzheimer’s cases, allowing for more effective treatment"

Currently, the effectiveness of these tests is being studied in the NHS Blood Biomarker Challenge to see if they could be used in the NHS. The tests would also need to be approved by UK regulators and assessed as cost-effective for the NHS. However, if they prove to be safe and useful, they could revolutionise the often long and arduous diagnosis process for Alzheimer’s disease.

Huge buzz around the completed map of the fruit fly brain

In October, an international collaboration of researchers, the FlyWire Consortium, published their completed map of the whole adult fruit fly brain, the first diagram of an entire brain for an animal that can walk and see. Despite it being no larger than a poppy seed, it could demonstrate significant potential for neuroscience.

The diagram, consisting of 139,255 neurons, was made by scanning very thinly cut sections of a fly’s brain with high-resolution electron microscopy. This mass of data was then analysed using AI to illuminate the shapes of the neurons and the connections between them. However, current AI software still makes many mistakes in datasets this large - more than 287 researchers and a large number of volunteers from the general public collaborated to proofread the data. Researchers classified different cell types across the brain, allowing the functions of different areas of the brain to be pinpointed.

The database is freely open to researchers and consequently represents a transformative tool for the understanding of how a healthy brain works. Although the extent to which this can be translated to the human brain is currently limited, the researchers believe that this map is just the first step to mapping a mouse and then eventually a human brain. In the future, brain mapping could be a potential tool for understanding what is going on in our brains under different circumstances, even providing a deeper understanding of mental health conditions.