scientific paper published in the prestigious journal Nature that claimed to have found the potential cause for brain degeneration in Alzheimer’s patients. Subsequent research found that N-APP, the fragment used in the 2009 paper, does not bind to DR6 as described in the study, caspase 6 is not actually required for axonal degeneration as claimed in the 2009 paper, caspase 3, which was ruled out by the 2009 paper, is required for apoptosis (cellular suicide), beta secretase is not actually required in the functions of DR6 and DR6 does not play a role in Alzheimer’s. Vishva Dixit, vice president of discovery research at Genentech, who was on the committee that reviewed the DR6 research — and was thanked in the acknowledgments of the 2009 paper — referred The Daily to Genentech’s press office when asked about the study