“Protein May Protect Against Alzheimer's Disease” The Boston Globe published an article titled Protein May Protect Against Alzheimer's Disease, by Carolyn Y. Johnson (2014). In this article, Johnson describes the evidence found by Harvard researchers on the etiology of Alzheimer's disease. Harvard researchers know one of the causes of Alzheimer's disease is the failure of a natural system that protects brain cells (Johnson 2014). This article explains the research done by Harvard researchers and also includes what Laura A. King (2013) states in Experience Psychology about Alzheimer's disease and parts of the brain. “One of our concerns is the fact that 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease, but we have no treatment to slow, stop or prevent the disease,” said Dean Hartley, director of initiatives. scientists from the Alzheimer's Association. “We think basic research like this will be important not only for understanding this disease, but also for understanding that the biggest risk factor for Alzheimer's disease is aging — and that's what's intriguing.” (Johnson 2014). Through laboratory tests, scientists have discovered that REST protein, a type of protein, has an effect on Alzheimer's disease. Scientists examined the brains of several Alzheimer's patients after they died and found lower levels of REST in their brains. According to these scientists, these proteins would be useful to brain cells. “In laboratory tests, REST prevented brain cells from dying when exposed to a number of stresses, including proteins that form plaque in the brains of Alzheimer's patients” (Johnson 2014). Bruce Yankner, a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, was interested in what happens to brain cells as we age. “Because studies that involve genetic manipulation are... middle of paper ... it's like Alzheimer's disease. When a close family member becomes ill or is diagnosed with an illness, we automatically start making assumptions and become worried. If we know about a disease, we know that it is not as harmful as we might think. My grandmother suffers from Alzheimer's disease. I had some information about Alzheimer's disease, but this article helped me a lot in understanding what the brain actually goes through when it is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Like I said, when we first saw the signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's in her, we were very scared. We didn't know much about Alzheimer's disease, all we knew was that it was memory loss. If we knew its cause and what it really is, it wouldn't scare us so much. This article also gives me hope because I know that scientists are concerned about this disease and that with further research they could find a cure..