Must reads

• A July 28, 2014 Wired article reported that Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have developed a new technique called light-sheet imaging that allows them to study the neural mechanisms of behavior in "unprecedented detail." According to the article, "In a paper in Nature Methods, Freeman and colleagues describe how they used a combination of genetic engineering and optics to capture the activity of about 80,000 neurons in the brains of zebrafish larvae. The scientists used zebrafish genetically engineered to have a chemical indicator in each neuron. In the tenth of a second after a neuron fires, the indicator becomes fluorescent. By swiftly sweeping laser beams through the fish, the scientists make the recently activated neurons glow. Since zebrafish are entirely transparent, the light from each neuron can be captured with an overhead camera." 
• A July 27, 2014 Daily Mail (UK) article reported that "Children who are better readers or given educational games suffer less from Alzheimer's and other age-related memory loss." According to the article, "The University of California study is the first to link childhood experiences to how they will be afflicted in later life. It found a child's socioeconomic status and literacy may have greater influence on the risk of cognitive impairment late in life than demographic factors such as race."
• A July 27, 2014 The Denver Post article reported on Alan Arnette's K2 "climb for Alzheimer's." According to the article, "Fort Collins adventurer Alan Arnette made it to the summit of the world's second-highest mountain, K2, on his 58th birthday Saturday, after a grueling and dangerous climb to draw attention to Alzheimer's disease…Arnette's mother, Ida Arnette, who died several years ago, had Alzheimer's, Davidson said. "He was part of the care-giving team for his mom, and he said, 'We have got to solve that problem.'"

• A July 27, 2014 The Denver Post opinion piece by Allan Vann encouraged the NFL and the Denver Broncos to use Pat Bowlen's Alzheimer's diagnosis to raise awareness of the disease. According to Vann, "It would seem that honoring Pat Bowlen and more than 5 million other Americans dealing with Alzheimer's would be a natural fit for the Broncos, as well as for all NFL teams. Broncos and all NFL radio and TV broadcasts in November can increase awareness to help find a way to prevent, treat, and finally cure Alzheimer's. That would be a wonderful tribute to Bowlen and an immense public service to others."