Newsline 7 September 2009: Researchers have uncovered three genes which play a role in Alzheimer's disease, raising hopes of new treatment possibilities; we hear why Italian women are speaking out against the pressure to be young and beautiful. And we visit a Beatles museum in The Netherlands and discover what's got fans of the Fab Four all stirred up.
Listen to today's programme:
Gene discovery could help fight against Alzheimer's
Scientists working in six European countries and the United States have uncovered variants of three genes which play a role in Alzheimer's. The disease is the biggest cause of dementia, and nearly one in four cases are believed to have a genetic cause. The discovery has raised hopes of opening new avenues to tackle the mind-killing illness.
"Soft porn" tv upsetting Italian women
Not every Italian woman is a scantily clad blonde - although that's the impression you get watching the country's TV shows. Women all over Italy are speaking out against the constant stream of nearly-naked women on television and advertising billboards. It's fuelling Berlusconi style "machismo" and dragging the country backwards, they say.
Big day for Beatles' fans
This Wednesday, on the ninth of the ninth 2009, a new, re-mastered set of Beatles' CDs and the first official Beatles video game will be hitting the shops. And media attention for the Fab Four is almost as widespread as it was when they split up almost 40 years ago. Newsline visits the Dutch Beatles museum, to recapture a bit of '60s magic in the 21st century...
Image: PET scan of the brain of a person with Alzheimer's disease showing a loss of function in the temporal lobe. Wikipedia
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