Nanoscale tech tracks proteins inside living neurons to guide Alzheimer's and Parkinson's drug discovery
Researchers at The University of Queensland have developed a new nanoscale platform called NASTIC to track protein behavior in living neurons. This technology has been spun out into a startup, Accretion Bio, to accelerate drug discovery for neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
Why it matters
This innovation provides a new tool for real-time biological observation, potentially shortening the timeline for developing effective treatments for debilitating brain diseases.
edited by Sadie Harley , reviewed by Robert Egan
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:
Add to Preferred Sources Credit: Public Domain A technology developed at The University of Queensland allowing scientists to observe how disease-related proteins behave inside living neurons will be used to advance early drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases. The NASTIC (Nanoscale Spatiotemporal Indexing Clustering) platform, spun out into Brisbane-based startup Accretion Bio, enables researchers to study real-time biological processes in living cells across space and time at the single-molecule level for the first time.
The platform is the result of more than two decades of research at UQ's Queensland Brain Institute (QBI), led by professor Frederic Meunier.
Meunier said NASTIC emerged from a fundamental scientific question about how proteins behave in living brain cells.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in