Maybe I am completely off track, but you don't need radioactive marker molecules if you go for two-photon imaging, you need fluorescent markers. Also, it is sad to see that even today, every publication in the neurobiology field has to mention Alzheimer's. It's about finding how the brain works, and if it is applicable to Alzheimer's, then great, but at the current state, this is a very long shot.
I think the connection is made to Alzheimers because ... there might be a connection. Like they say right there in the article, one of the waste products is amyloid. Given amyloid buildup is pretty much what we consider Alzheimers to be, I don't see why it's ridiculous to pencil in an arrow here. I mean if some people's bathtubs were overflowing and scientists had just discovered how drains work, don't you think it w…
2) Brains lacking those channels have a lower amyloid clearing rate. Alzheimer's brains have a higher rate of amyloid. There is no reason to believe that the first leads to the second.
3) Brains are no bathtubs. Seriously.
This is interesting research on its own, no need to spice it up by the default A. reference.