Toxic protein, linked to Alzheimer's and neurodegenerative diseases, exposed in new detail

The protein tau has long been implicated in Alzheimer's and a host of other debilitating brain diseases. But scientists have struggled to understand exactly how tau converts from its normal, functional form into a misfolded, harmful one. By analyzing brain tissue from patients, researchers have revealed that modifications to the tau protein may influence what type of disease that will develop -- and how quickly that disease will spread throughout the brain.