šŸ‘Øā€šŸ”¬ šŸ šŸ‰ ā›³ļø šŸŽ¾ Stem cell biologist. working on understanding mechanisms of dementia. neurons. astrocytes. microglia.

UCL, London, UK
Joined March 2013
The ā€œUniverse 25ā€ experiment, conducted by American scientist John Calhoun, is one of the most alarming studies in the history of science. It aimed to explain human societies through the behavior of a mouse colony. Calhoun created an ā€œideal worldā€ for hundreds of mice, known as the ā€œParadise of Mice,ā€ where they had abundant food, water, and ample living space. Initially, he introduced four pairs of mice, which quickly reproduced, causing the population to grow rapidly. However, after 315 days, their reproduction rate significantly declined. When the population reached 600, a hierarchy emerged, and the so-called ā€œwretchesā€ appeared. Larger rodents began attacking others, leading to psychological collapse in many males. Consequently, females became aggressive towards their young and did not protect themselves. Over time, the females exhibited increasing aggression, isolation, and a lack of reproductive drive. This led to a low birth rate and higher mortality among younger rodents. A new class of male rodents, termed ā€œbeautiful mice,ā€ emerged. They refused to mate or fight for territory, focusing only on food and sleep. Eventually, ā€œbeautiful malesā€ and ā€œisolated femalesā€ dominated the population. Calhoun described the death phase in two stages: the ā€œfirst death,ā€ marked by a loss of purpose beyond mere existence, and the ā€œsecond death.ā€ Juvenile mortality reached 100%, and reproduction ceased entirely. Despite abundant food, cannibalism and homosexuality increased among the mice. Two years into the experiment, the last baby mouse was born, and by 1973, the last mouse in Universe 25 had died. Calhoun repeated the experiment 25 times, with the same outcome each time. Calhoun’s work has been used to model social collapse and serves as a significant reference in urban sociology studies.
164
1,196
235
4,010
553,956
Familial British dementia decoded! 🧬 @aitanasogorb talks with UCL’s @celarber & @lecrawf0 about unique genetic insights & research advancements, and new funding from @racingdementia #Dementia pod.fo/e/279194
8
1
13
2,467
Today is #AdaLovelaceDay Prof @SelinaWray grew up in Barnsley and now leads a group of dementia researchers at University College London. Revisit the 2022 @CooperBarnsley exhibition Brains In A Dish inc a podcast & virtual tour cooper-gallery.com/digital/b…
9
17
1,124
Always exciting to get images like these 😁🧠 first go at whole mount staining of organoids in the first image!🧫
6
2
137
10,181
It’s been an amazing few days at the @isftd conference in Amsterdam so far! 🧠 I am very excited to have the fantastic opportunity to present a poster (P372) on some preliminary work from my PhD! 🧫Come say hi if you’re around ā˜ŗļø #ISFTD2024
3
37
3,549
Charlie Arber retweeted
Excited to share our new work: genetic risk analysis on Chromosome X for Alzheimer’s disease. Implications for risk in men versus women: Chromosome X-wide association study in case-control of pathologically confirmed Alzheimer’s in European population 1/ doi.org/10.1038/s41398-024-0…
6
22
1
78
5,596
A day of impact at the #raceagainstdementia Forum 2024šŸŒšŸ§  F1 leaders and our global team of dementia researchers joined forces to accelerate breakthroughs by harnessing the speed & precision of Formula 1. Hosted by @ChrisHewgill and united in one goal: winning this race-faster
1
3
18
1,099
Charlie Arber retweeted
As a fantasy football punishment my friend has to stay at a bar that opens at 6 AM and doesn’t close until 2 AM For every drink he has during his stay, 30 minutes gets taken off the total time he can leave. Stay tuned for live updates throughout the day
2,073
11,898
2,933
298,975
31,085,677
The Jennings vs Alzheimer’s tells the powerful story of a rare, hereditary form of Alzheimer's, featuring research from Prof Sir John Hardy, Prof Nick Fox, & Dr @cathmummery, @UCLIoN, @drcionucl #UCLDementia #WorldAlzheimersMonth bbc.in/3Mzu5V2
10
20
2,152
New TYP lab preprint alert! Our previous PhD student Hyo Lee (& amazing collaborators) profile iPSC-derived astrocytes from 44 ROSMAP individuals and compare to brain data from the same people! You can find all the cool findings here: biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/…
6
28
1,416
My latest research, now out @PLOSBiology! We show it's not just neurons that produce Aβ in Alzheimer's, oligodendrocytes produce Aβ too! Suppressing oligo Aβ in mice rescues neuronal dysfunction, hinting at new treatment avenues. A summary thread… 1/12 journals.plos.org/plosbiolog…
1
21
3
76
9,023
Have you spotted Guenther Steiner in his #raceagainstdementia pin badge at the #britishGP ?
4
25
901
Excited to share my latest preprint with @marcaurelbusche. We show it's not just neurons that produce Abeta in Alzheimer's, oligodendrocytes produce Abeta too! Suppressing oligo Abeta in mice rescues neuronal dysfunction, hinting at new treatment avenues. biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/…
3
6
25
1,779
New research from our group challenges the belief that neurons are a primary source of pathogenic Abeta in #Alzheimer’s. We show oligodendrocytes also produce Abeta, and suppressing oligo Abeta in mice rescues early neuronal dysfunction, suggesting a new therapeutic strategy.
2
21
3
82
10,359
Charlie Arber retweeted
I asked our local MP candidates which of them would support dementia research and care, and only Simon Anthony @tortysoft responded with support @TheGreenParty @CarolineLucas @carla_denyer @AdrianRamsay @sianberry @AlzResearchUK
Today, we’re proud to launch the Dementia Coalition ManifestošŸ‘‰buff.ly/3VPoGyy We’re calling on the next Government to take action in five key areas ā¬‡ļø ā¬‡ļø ā¬‡ļø #DementiaCoalition 🧵 1/6
2
2
3
973
Charlie Arber retweeted
Replying to @NUJ_Nature
When you have €1.7bn annual revenue and an operating margin of 26%, but cannot pay your employees...
1
3
23
3,367