Tiny protein structures called amyloids are key to understanding certain devastating age-related diseases. Amyloids form plaques in the brain, and are the main culprits in the progression of Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s diseases. “In patients you see these huge plaques, but that’s the endpoint of the disease. It’s not the beginning,” said Matthew Lew, PhD, assistant professor in the Preston M. Green Department of Electrical & Systems Engineering at the School of Engineering & Applied Science. Lew explains how amyloids are so tiny that they can’t be visualized early in the disease progression using conventional microscopic techniques. He hopes a new imaging technique he helped develop will help doctors see amyloids in early stages of age-related diseases.

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Teacher Resources for the Video:

NGSS Disciplines Addressed in Standards Referenced Below:
• Life Sciences
• Physical Sciences
• Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science

Discussion Questions:
• Have students discuss examples in the video of the practice of “Asking Questions and Defining Problems.” What problem are the researchers trying to deal with and what questions are they asking as they engage in their study and analysis?

Activity Ideas:
• Provide the video for students who are doing independent projects on medical discoveries or other medical/health related topics.
• Consider using this and other videos on the website that deal with aging as part of a student activity that includes student interaction with older adults.

Vocabulary to Consider:
• Amyloid
• Plaques

Resources for Additional Research:
• Learn more about the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices at the NSTA website.

Unique ID for the Video: IinAction-4
• Use the unique ID as a shortcut for students to find this specific video. Click on Search and choose “By Video ID.” Type in the Video ID as it appears above.

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