How a string of flickering light bulbs could (maybe) treat Alzheimer’s

FILE - In this Feb. 6, 2012, file photo, Alexis McKenzie, right, executive director of The Methodist Home of the District of Columbia Forest Side, an Alzheimer's assisted-living facility in Washington, puts her hand on the arm of a resident. (AP Photo)

Over the past decade, more than 100 pills and injections have all failed to stop the brain-destroying effects of Alzheimer’s disease. So why not try a light show?

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Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have crafted a system of flickering LED lights that has shown promising signs of treating Alzheimer’s in mice engineered to develop the disease. And their findings, published Wednesday in Nature, have set sail a biotech company trying to turn the technology into something that can be tested on humans.