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STAT Plus<br>Biotech
Study reveals new role for tau, a top target for Alzheimer’s drug development
Stanford scientists pursue mechanism for protein’s effect on cells in neurodegeneration
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Tau proteins, in red, are thought to associate with microtubules in maintaining a neuron’s shape. They are found in brain diseases like Alzheimer’s.NIAID/NIH/Science Photo Library
By Jonathan Wosen<br>Aug. 6, 2026
West Coast Biotech & Life Sciences Reporter
Jonathan Wosen
[email protected]
Jonathan Wosen is STAT’s West Coast biotech & life sciences reporter. You can reach Jonathan on Signal at jwosen.27.
In the race for new ways to treat Alzheimer’s and other devastating neurologic diseases, the protein tau has become a tantalizing target for drug developers. A new study lends support to those efforts by describing a previously unknown role that tau plays in neurodegeneration — and suggesting a novel way researchers might block the protein’s activity.
A team led by Stanford scientists found that tau can gum up the works of a cell’s mitochondria, its energy-producing powerhouse. The protein sends electrons flowing in the opposite direction of their usual microscopic relay race, a reversal that generates reactive oxygen species, cellular stress, and inflammation. Scientists found that blocking this phenomenon, known as reverse electron transport, reversed many of the harmful effects and improved learning and memory in flies and mice.<br>Advertisement
Whether the same will hold true in people is for now unclear, though an analysis of human cells grown in the lab and patient brain tissue suggests blocking the retrograde flow of electrons could make neurons healthier. Two of the study’s authors have started a biotech startup to put this idea to the test.
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Alzheimer’s, biotechnology, drug development, neuroscience, research, STAT+
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Jonathan Wosen
West Coast Biotech & Life Sciences Reporter
Jonathan Wosen is STAT’s West Coast biotech & life sciences reporter. You can reach Jonathan on Signal at jwosen.27.
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