The Protein at the Center of Alzheimer's Research Has a Hidden Essential Role
For decades, tau has been cast as one of Alzheimer's disease's defining villains, a protein that, when it misfolds and clumps into neurofibrillary tangles, helps dismantle the cognitive architecture of the aging brain. New research has now revealed that this same protein performs an indispensable role in healthy brains: selecting exactly which neurons will lock in a lasting memory.