text: Indian captain Virat Kohli says his team might test its bench strength in the sixth and final ODI against South Africa on Friday but asserted that intensity won't be lacking despite the match's inconsequential nature.
  Port Elizabeth: Indian captain Virat Kohli says his team might test its bench strength in the sixth and final ODI against South Africa on Friday but asserted that intensity won't be lacking despite the match's inconsequential nature.
  India secured their first ever series win in South Africa across formats on Tuesday when they beat the hosts by 73 runs in the fifth ODI.
  "After this series is wrapped up, we'll sit down and think about where to improve. For now, 4-1 feels great. We want to win 5-1, for sure, but there might be a scenario for a few more guys to get a chance in the next match," Kohli said.
  The performance of Kohli and wrist spinners Kuldeep Chahal and Yuzvendra Chahal has stood out in the series but the captain said the historic win was the result of a team effort.
  "I'm very pleased, it was another complete performance from us," he said referring to Tuesday's win.
  "They (South Africa) had the pressure of losing this series and we knew that. Ever since the third Test in Johannesburg, it's been a good time for us. It's been a collective effort to create history," he added.
  South African stand-in captain Aiden Markram said his depleted team was outplayed by India in the series. Regular captain Faf du Plessis was ruled out due to a finger injury after the first ODI while AB de Villiers was not fit to take part in the first three games.
  "Firstly, credit goes to India. Our batting wasn't up to scratch. You struggle to build momentum when you lose wickets. They've got their game plans nailed, so credit to how they've played," said Markram.
  Barring one game, the South African batsmen struggled against Indian spinners and that made a huge difference in the outcome of the series.
  "I do believe we've played their spinners progressively better in the series. It's a learning process. There's still a lot of pride to play for now and we're gonna look to bounce back and end the series on a positive note," added Markram.
  London: Scientists at the University at Buffalo have discovered a promising new drug target for Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases – a tiny piece of a critical receptor that fuels the brain and without which sentient beings cannot live.
  “This is the first time that this site has been shown to be useful as a drug target,” said Gabriela K. Popescu, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry in UB’s School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and senior author on the study.
  “If we could find a drug that attaches itself to this site and locks together NMDA receptor subunits, that would be huge for fighting disability from stroke and Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases,” Popescu stated.
  The research focuses on the brain’s receptors for the neurotransmitter, glutamate, which is implicated in these diseases as well as in other conditions, such as glaucoma.
  The two main glutamate receptors in the brain are NMDA and AMPA receptors, both of which play critical roles in human learning and memory. Both types of receptors are made of four subunits and within each receptor these subunits are organized in pairs called dimers.
  Because these receptors are so similar in structure, Popescu explains, it was assumed that they function in much the same way.
  “But when we altered the dimer interface, the site where two subunits come together within each pair, we found that the NMDA receptor works just the opposite of the way that the AMPA receptor works,” Popescu explained.
  “Cementing this interface in AMPA receptors lead to more activity, whereas we found just the opposite to be true in NMDA receptors,” she added.
  By locking the subunits together, the UB researchers were able to achieve a marked reduction in NMDA activity and, subsequently, a marked reduction in the amount of calcium that enters neurons in response to the neurotransmitter glutamate.
  Calcium overload due to overactive NMDA receptors is what eventually kills off neurons, Popescu said, leading to the symptoms that occur after a stroke, and in Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.
  “The fact that by cross-linking the subunits, we could so dramatically reduce NMDA receptor activation demonstrates, for the first time, the tantalizing possibility that we may be able to develop new therapies that can much more effectively treat, or even one day prevent, some of these devastating diseases, like Alzheimer’s and stroke,” added Popescu.