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Memory loss is one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s and heartbreaking for loved ones to watch progress. Gone are the details of a first love or a child’s wobbly first steps. The achievements of a distinguished 30-year career. And the tall tales of travelling the globe that once had everyone rolling on the floor with laughter.

Scientists had assumed for a long time that the disease destroys how those memories are encoded and makes them disappear forever. But what if they weren’t actually gone — just inaccessible?

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A new paper published Wednesday by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Nobel Prize-winning Susumu Tonegawa provides the first strong evidence of this possibility and raises the hope of future treatments that could reverse some of the ravages of the disease on memory.

“The important point is, this is a proof of concept,” Tonegawa said. “That is, even if a memory seems to be gone, it is still there. It’s a matter of how to retrieve it.”