PLT Test Blog

One of the people I have met during my investigation into autism, recently pointed out to me that much scientific research cannot be trusted.   He forwarded a study to me showing just how many researchers admit is omitting data that did not suit what they were trying to prove.   I replied that I made a point of checking the credentials of the lead author.   He then replied that it is not the lead researcher who collects the data, he has a little army of PhD students doing this and nobody is checking them. The study showed it was the younger researchers, eager to prove themselves that were the most likely to “fiddle” the results.  The problem is that by the time you become an “older researcher” you are not the one collecting the data. Doubts about Sprouts  One of the people who I keep forgetting to add to my Dean’s list is John Gargus; he is a professor at University of California at Irvine and Director of the Center for Autism Research and Treatment at UCI....

Today’s post is about another example of how evolution can play jokes on us.  It really is the case that a signaling pathway that controls hair growth is the same that determines the number and shape of dendritic spines in the brain. This is good news not just for Homer Simpson but for people interesting in perking up behavior and cognitive function in autism. The post also connects several subjects that we have previously encountered - dendritic spines which are abnormal in autism, Wnt signaling which is implicated in cancer (and autism), statins, Ivermectin, CAPE found in some propolis and verapamil.  There is plenty of research to back all these connections, but strangely nobody seems to be applying them to develop any practical therapies. I introduced dendritic spines in an earlier post.  Each neuron in your brain has hundreds of protruding spines. Dendritic Spines in Autism – Why, and potentially how, to modify them In that post I reported that PAK1, the gene NrCAM a...