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Not all vitamin D supplements are created equal, and new research suggests that one popular form may have an unexpected downside. Scientists found that taking vitamin D2 can actually lower the body's levels of vitamin D3, the form naturally produced by sunlight and more effective at boosting overall vitamin D. Previous studies also suggest that vitamin D3 may provide stronger immune protection against viruses and bacteria.

A large analysis of 22 studies found that the trans fats naturally present in dairy foods such as milk, butter, yogurt, and cheese do not appear to raise the risk of heart disease or type 2 diabetes. Unlike industrial trans fats from partially hydrogenated oils, dairy trans fats showed no meaningful harmful effects on blood fats in controlled trials and were not linked to higher rates of heart disease, stroke, cardiovascular death, or diabetes in long-term studies.

A study of more than 130,000 babies born in Georgia found that hundreds of fathers died within the first five years of their child’s life, and about 60% of those deaths were potentially preventable. Homicide, accidental injuries, suicide, and drug overdoses accounted for most of the preventable deaths, highlighting what researchers call a major blind spot in public health.

A Stanford-designed molecule turns a major lymphoma-promoting protein against cancer cells, activating their own self-destruct machinery instead of simply blocking tumor growth. In mice, the treatment completely eliminated aggressive human lymphoma tumors within 11 days, although much more testing is needed before it could reach patients.

Eating more sugar while taking antibiotics was linked to greater disruption of the gut microbiome and increased growth of potentially harmful bacteria. Researchers say temporarily cutting back on sweets during and after antibiotic treatment could be a simple way to reduce this damage, though clinical trials are still needed.

Climate change appears to have made food scarce for chinstrap penguins, which had numbered more than 1 million on a remote South Atlantic island

Blocking a receptor called P2X7 significantly reduced inflammation in human brain tissue, revealing a potential new treatment strategy for neurological and psychiatric disorders. The discovery could help researchers repurpose existing drugs for conditions including traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, depression, and schizophrenia.

Ancient swimming creature provides clues to when nursing evolved

CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with prior autism trait-based research in the general population, middle-aged and older autistic adults report more extensive sleep problems and worse sleep quality than non-autistic adults. Sleep problems were associated with older age and poorer mental health. Though the study is cross-sectional, the findings highlight the need to explore causal links through intervention. Addressing anxiety, and mental health problems more broadly, may improve sleep quality in ageing...

Brain aging provides an integrative marker of systemic health, but whether regional patterns outperform whole-brain approaches remains unknown. Here, we show that regional brain age signatures achieve superior mortality prediction through identifiable neurovascular-immune mechanisms in 1,240 community-dwelling adults followed for 10 years (120 deaths). While global brain age independently predicts mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 1.044 per year), a data-driven three-region model combining the left...

INTRODUCTION: Aging is associated with declines in physical and cognitive capacities, which become more pronounced after age 80. Institutionalization may further increase anxiety and depression. This pilot study assessed the feasibility and effects of a dance intervention on physical function, cognition, and mental health in institutionalized older adults with cognitive impairment.

Aging is accompanied by a decline in circulating ketone bodies and progressive cardiac dysfunction, yet whether dietary ketone repletion counteracts cardiac aging in a sex-specific manner remains unclear. Here, we first investigated the associations between plasma ketone bodies and cardiac function in a human cohort, comprising 120 adults (44.78 ± 10.97 years; 66 male/54 female) and 121 aged individuals (69.59 ± 6.88 years; 75 male/46 female). And, we then evaluated the therapeutic potential of...

CONCLUSIONS: The effects of psychosocial stress-inflammation associations are complex and may depend on cardiovascular burden. Replication is needed to establish temporality and clinical relevance.

White matter hyperintensities (WMH) are ubiquitous on magnetic resonance images (MRI) in older adults. However, the rate and mechanisms of their proliferation remain unclear, as they are inferred mainly from cross-sectional studies and imperfect single indicators of theoretical constructs. To assess the magnitude of WMH change and its modifiers, we conducted a meta-analysis of 54 longitudinal studies. We found the increase in WMH burden over time (pooled effect size) even in the studies with...

Advancements occurred in the last century have gradually extended human lifespan. However, increased lifespan does not necessarily coincide with an equivalent extension of healthy life expectancy. The increasing gap of years between healthy and unhealthy life challenges individual aspirations for a meaningful longevity and strains the sustainability of health and social care systems. Aging remains the main risk factor for diseases, and comorbidity does not fully account for the disparities...

Alternative splicing is a fundamental post-transcriptional mechanism that contributes to cardiovascular development, homeostasis, and disease. Serine/arginine-rich splicing factors (SRSFs), a conserved family of 12 RNA-binding proteins, regulate splice-site selection and other RNA-processing events through their RNA-recognition motifs and arginine/serine-rich domains. Growing evidence implicates SRSF dysregulation in congenital heart disease, cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure, ischemic...

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a large-vessel vasculitis predominantly affecting individuals over 50 years, with a peak incidence between 70 and 80 years. Its pathogenesis involves complex immunological cascades triggered by vascular dendritic cell activation, recruitment of CD4⁺ T cells and monocytes, T helper lymphocyte polarization, and vascular remodeling driven by myofibroblasts and fibroblasts. Growing evidence implicates cellular senescence (particularly in vascular smooth muscle cells,...

The cardio-renal-hepatic-metabolic (CRHM) axis represents the bidirectional network through which cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, metabolic dysfunction, and liver disorders propagate injury across organs. Within this network, Klotho has emerged as a context-dependent regulator linking mineral metabolism, metabolic homeostasis, cellular stress, inflammation, and tissue remodelling. Klotho comprises distinct signalling axes: the renal α-Klotho-Fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-23...

Cellular senescence contributes to age-associated tissue dysfunction through persistent growth arrest, metabolic remodeling, and altered communication with immune and stromal cells. Senolytic therapies preferentially eliminate susceptible senescent cells, while senomorphic therapies modulate harmful senescence-associated activities. Nanoparticle engineering can improve the delivery of these agents through cargo protection, surface functionalization, and controlled release. Surface ligands can...