Brain Combats Rare Dementia by Recruiting New Neurons

Image by Aneta Kielar / University of Arizona

A team of researchers at University of Arizona and the University of Toronto have published a study of a rare dementia called primary progressive aphasia, or PPA.

The research linked improved patient outcomes to the brain’s capacity to “recruit” other areas of the brain to make up for deficits.

Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
UA Study Examines How Brain Rewires Itself To Cope With Rare Dementia

Salty Subglacial Lakes Could Host Cousins to Otherwordly Life

Figure by Anja Rutishauser.

An international team of researchers has reported what may be the first two isolated, salty, subglacial lakes found on Earth.

The water pockets — one roughly the area of Arizona’s Saguaro Lake, the other about four-fifths the size of the state’s Apache Lake — differ from 400 other subglacial pools in that they are 4-5 times as salty as Earth’s oceans.

Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
Finding An Alien World Half A Mile Beneath Canadian Ice

In Southwest U.S., Stream Flows May Increase After Wildfires

Photo by U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Wildfires in the Lower Colorado basin can increase streamflow in the river, even during dry conditions, and even while Arizona endures a 20-plus-year drought, according to a recent study.

The 30-year study examined long-term regional fire effects at 168 sites across the contiguous U.S.

Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
Study: Southwest Wildfires Boost Stream Flows

Study Offers Hope for Fungus-Infected Frogs

Photo courtesy Cori Richards-Zawacki.

Scientists from the U.S. and Panama have found that some frog species can recover from chytridiomycosis, an infectious disease partly responsible for amphibian die-offs around the world.

Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
For Fungus-Infected Frogs, It’s Change or Die

Orbital ATK to Expand Launch Vehicles Division

Rendering courtesy of new Orbital ATK center.

Aerospace and defense company Orbital ATK is expanding its Chandler, Arizona-based launch vehicles division.

Orbital will establish the 47-acre campus a stone’s throw from the company’s existing Chandler campus, which employs nearly 1,600 people.

Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
Orbital ATK To Expand Its Chandler Footprint

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