Genetics (only) won’t save us
In November 2020, a news feature in Nature discussed “ A fringe theory [that] links microbes in the brain with the onset of dementia ” (Figure 1). While it was nice to see that this “fringe” theory is finally being considered worthy of discussion by top journals, the article also highlighted the mainstream view, the one which kept this theory on the fringes for a long time. “ But I don’t think it is going to be provable ” the article quotes Dr. John Hardy, the father of the amyloid cascade hypothesis, “ and I don’t think there is much left that needs to be explained about Alzheimer’s beyond the genetics ”, he added. This statement is not only inaccurate, but it also reflects the core framework that has dominated the field of neurodegeneration for the past four decades. This framework emphasizes that nothing more than genetics is needed to understand these diseases, and if we just keep sequencing more people and conducting more genetic studies, the problem will eventually be solved. ...