Smart microscope captures aggregation of misfolded proteins

EPFL researchers have developed a microscope that can be used to predict the onset of misfolded protein aggregation – a hallmark of neurodegenerative disease – as well as analyze the biomechanical properties of these aggregates. The accumulation of misfolded proteins in the brain is central to the progression of neurodegenerative diseases like Huntington's, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. But to the human eye, proteins that are destined to form harmful aggregates don't look any different than normal proteins. The formation of such aggregates also tends to happen randomly and relatively rapidly – on the scale of minutes. The ability to identify and characterize protein aggregates is essential for understanding and fighting neurodegenerative diseases.