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Scientists are calling for a major rethink of how we manage high blood pressure, suggesting that eating more potassium could be just as important as cutting back on salt. A new report finds that combining increased potassium intake with reduced sodium consumption may offer greater benefits for blood pressure control than sodium reduction alone.

Researchers have developed a remarkable new electronic implant that could transform type 2 diabetes treatment by lowering blood sugar without insulin or traditional drugs. The device uses a special electrically powered catalyst to convert excess glucose into a substance that the body eliminates through urine, potentially preventing unwanted energy from being stored as fat. In diabetic mice, the implant precisely controlled blood sugar and promoted weight loss.

In a surprising discovery, scientists found that certain diets associated with obesity can make cancer immunotherapy more effective in mice, challenging traditional assumptions about diet and cancer treatment. The findings suggest that the secret may lie in how food interacts with gut bacteria to strengthen the immune system's response to cancer.

A major new study challenges the idea that moderate drinking is safe, finding that even relatively small amounts of alcohol increase the risk of cancer, heart disease, and premature death. Researchers found no overall health benefits from drinking and warn that consuming more than one alcoholic beverage per day can significantly increase long-term health risks.

A major new review challenges the growing enthusiasm for medical cannabis as an insomnia treatment, finding little reliable evidence that it improves sleep quality, sleep duration, or daytime functioning. Researchers caution that this doesn't mean cannabis is ineffective, only that existing studies are too weak to establish whether it works.

A surprising new study suggests that eating peanuts every day could help support brain health and memory in older adults. Researchers found that consuming about two servings of unsalted, skin-roasted peanuts daily for 16 weeks improved insulin responsiveness in brain regions important for memory, a function that often weakens with age and has been linked to Alzheimer's disease.

A UCLA study found that long-term exposure to a common pesticide was linked to more than 2.5 times the risk of Parkinson's disease. Scientists also uncovered how the chemical damages brain cells and identified a promising way to protect them.

A massive study of nearly 486,000 adults found that regularly drinking tea was associated with an 11% lower risk of heart and blood vessel diseases. The lowest risk was linked to drinking roughly six to eight cups per day, with black tea showing more consistent benefits than green tea.

We developed a machine learning framework grounded in a computational model of brain function and FDG-PET imaging to predict Alzheimer's disease (AD)-type tau across AD and related disorders (ADRD). The model was trained on 1088 research participants spanning normal aging and ADRD with FDG-PET and flortaucipir-PET (FTP-PET). Validation was conducted in: (1) a longitudinal subset of the training cohort (n = 215), (2) Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (n = 295), and (3) a heretogeneous...

We developed a machine learning framework grounded in a computational model of brain function and FDG-PET imaging to predict Alzheimer's disease (AD)-type tau across AD and related disorders (ADRD). The model was trained on 1088 research participants spanning normal aging and ADRD with FDG-PET and flortaucipir-PET (FTP-PET). Validation was conducted in: (1) a longitudinal subset of the training cohort (n = 215), (2) Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (n = 295), and (3) a heretogeneous...

Adaptive modulation of physiological traits in response to dietary fluctuations is essential for organismal fitness and is governed by complex gene-diet interactions that remain mechanistically unexplored. Here, we identify the conserved mTORC2 component RICTOR as a critical regulator of dietary plasticity in Caenorhabditis elegans. Loss of rict-1/RICTOR confers enhanced osmotic stress tolerance and longevity on vitamin B12-rich bacterial diets containing optimal methionine. These adaptations...

Ageing-associated inflammation ("inflammaging") is characterised by chronic microglial priming or overactivity that elevates neurodegeneration risk. Microglia also accumulate autofluorescent lipofuscin as they age-aggregates of oxidised lipids, misfolded proteins and metals that generate reactive oxygen species. Characterising age-related changes in brain autofluorescence could provide insight into brain ageing dynamics and could identify associations with potential biomarkers in accessible...

Efforts to extend longevity and healthspan have benefited from the use of in vitro systems, short-lived model organisms and computational approaches, but translation to humans depends on demonstrating efficacy and safety in mammalian in vivo models. However, rigorously controlled rodent lifespan studies are slow, costly and low-throughput. Hormesis, the induction of adaptive stress response pathways by low-level toxic or metabolic challenges, provides a mechanistic means for improved resilience,...

Biological aging drives cellular dysfunction and human disease, yet studying human aging dynamics remains challenging due to limited experimental platforms. Here we show that long-term post-mitotic culture of human fibroblasts recapitulates and accelerates features of in vivo aging. Longitudinal paired transcriptomic and epigenetic analyses of four female fibroblast lines revealed that in vitro aging reflects key signatures of in vivo primary fibroblast aging. Direct neuronal conversion of in...

Scientists at the University of Virginia have developed a promising new strategy to fight glioblastoma, one of the deadliest and most difficult-to-treat forms of brain cancer. Their experimental approach combines focused ultrasound, tiny nanoparticles, and genetic molecules called microRNAs to attack multiple cancer-driving genes simultaneously.

Scientists have uncovered a hidden mechanism that allows high-cholesterol diets to undermine the body's natural cholesterol defenses, and blocking it dramatically lowered harmful LDL cholesterol in mice. Even more promising, an experimental drug targeting this pathway has already passed an early human safety trial, potentially speeding the development of a new treatment for high cholesterol.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have uncovered a crucial missing link between a common gut bacterium and colorectal cancer, solving a mystery that has puzzled researchers for nearly two decades. The bacterium, Bacteroides fragilis, produces a toxin that damages the colon’s protective lining, triggers chronic inflammation, and promotes tumor formation.

Scientists have discovered a bizarre bacterial defense system that works almost completely backward from anything seen before. Unlike typical bacterial immune systems that keep a deadly toxin under control until a virus attacks, this unusual mechanism waits until an infection begins before producing the DNA that switches on its lethal weapon. The infected bacterium then destroys itself, preventing the virus from multiplying and spreading to neighboring cells.

Gene transcription by RNA Polymerase II (Pol II) is highly vulnerable to transcription-blocking DNA lesions (TBLs), which, if unresolved, induce transcription stress leading to cellular decline and aging. TBLs are removed by transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair (TC-NER). TC-NER is initiated when Cockayne syndrome group B protein recognizes lesion-stalled Pol II and promotes TC-NER complex assembly. This complex recruits TFIIH for lesion verification, followed by incision and repair...