So far, medicine has failed to come up with a cure for Alzheimer’s, a disease that exponentially threatens an increasingly aging population. Recent research focuses on inflammation as a root for the disease. However, one neurologist sees infection as the possible cause of the feared disease. He thinks that the “plaques” in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients may be response of the body’s immune system that’s fighting a potent pathogen. Recent research shows that mouse brains accumulate amyloid plaques within hours of catching infections, and that these plaques help them to live longer. This is a very good article in the online long-form journalism publication Aeon.