Life Sciences & Medicine Active Updated Jul 8, 2026
The brain cells that keep memories alive
Astrocytes, star-shaped cells that make up roughly half the brain by cell count, were long dismissed as passive structural scaffolding for neurons. New research shows they are active gatekeepers deciding which long-term memories survive, with direct implications for Alzheimer's disease, autism spectrum disorder, and age-related memory loss.
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Jul 8, 2026 Latest
Researchers at the Institute of Basic Science found that astrocytes control long-term memory persistence through a protein called ankyrin-2 (Ank2). Mice engineered without Ank2 in their astrocytes formed memories completely normally but lost all long-term recall within two weeks while short-term memory stayed intact. The team also built a light-activated genetic tool called Opto-T1 that restores astrocyte function in living mice and successfully boosted long-term memory persistence.
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