Scientists make discovery in Alzheimer's: "Scientists have discovered molecular janitors that clear away a sticky gunk blamed for Alzheimer's disease - until they get old and quit sweeping up.

The finding helps explain why Alzheimer's is a disease of aging. More importantly, it suggests a new weapon: drugs that give nature's cleanup crews a boost.

'It's a whole new way of thinking in the Alzheimer's field,' said Dr. Andrew Dillin, a biologist at California's Salk Institute for Biological Studies who led the new research.

The discovery, published Thursday by the journal Science, was made in a tiny roundworm called C. elegans.

What do worms have to do with people? They're commonly used in age-related genetics research, and the new work involves a collection of genes that people harbor, too. Dillin's team from Salk and the neighboring Scripps Research Institute already is on the trail of potential drug candidates. "