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Scientists discover mysterious “lonely” brain waves linked to memory loss
Scientists have uncovered a surprising link between Alzheimer’s-related protein buildup, disrupted brain waves during deep sleep, and fading memory. The findings suggest that hidden changes in how the brain processes memories overnight may contribute to age-related memory loss long before Alzheimer’s symptoms appear.
Goodbye, cavities? Scientists create gel that could regrow tooth enamel
Scientists have developed a revolutionary gel that could regrow lost tooth enamel by harnessing minerals naturally found in saliva, potentially overcoming one of dentistry’s biggest limitations. The regenerated enamel behaves much like healthy enamel, raising hopes for a simple treatment that could repair damaged teeth, prevent decay, and reduce sensitivity.
Scientists solve 30-year-old mystery and discover a hidden defense against inflammation
Scientists have solved a decades-old mystery and uncovered a hidden immune system defense that protects healthy cells from the very inflammation meant to fight infections. The surprising discovery could lead to new approaches for treating cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, and other conditions involving excessive inflammation.
Lipid homeostasis and cellular metabolism in neurodegenerative diseases: A maturing framework to guide therapeutic development
Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and dementia with Lewy bodies have long been viewed through the lens of protein aggregation. Emerging evidence, however, highlights lipid transfer, load, metabolism, and cellular homeostasis as upstream drivers of pathology. This perspective integrates established neurobiological, genetic, and mechanistic evidence of lipid dysfunction and outlines how these pathways can guide patient stratification, biomarker discovery,...
Multimodal MRI reveals brain structural and functional abnormalities associated with wearing-off phenomenon in Parkinson's disease
CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary single-center cross-sectional study revealed significant differences in brain structure and function between PD-WO and PD-nWO patients. These findings provide a better understanding of the neural mechanisms behind the WO phenomenon in PD and suggest potential therapeutic targets.
Not born in the brain: Bone marrow-derived microglia in human aging
In a study recently published in Nature, Belk et al.¹ use somatic mutations to demonstrate that bone marrow-derived cells enter the aging human brain and resemble microglia. The aged microglial compartment may therefore have a substantial hematopoietic contribution, and its clonal composition may prove important for stem-cell-based microglial replacement.
Adiposity measures in relation to cognitive screening performance and MRI-derived brain age gap in middle-aged and older adults
CONCLUSIONS: Anthropometric adiposity measures, particularly BMI, WC, and WHtR, were more consistently related to MRI-derived brain age gap than to brief cognitive screening performance in a cohort of middle-aged and older adults. These findings describe cross-sectional associations with older predicted brain age, especially at higher adiposity levels.
Circulating miRNAs associated with frailty in old people with cardiovascular diseases promote cellular senescence and inflammation
CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that circulating levels of miR-181b-3p, miR-490-5p, and miR-511-5p might serve as markers of frailty in old people with CVD and that miR-181b-3p and miR-490-5p might be functionally linked to the pathophysiology of the syndrome through their effects on cellular senescence and inflammation.
Obesity pharmacotherapies and cognition
Pharmacotherapies for obesity and type 2 diabetes are increasingly being evaluated for their effects on cognition and brain health. Evidence from preclinical models, observational cohorts, and clinical trials has intensified interest, but findings remain mixed. A central challenge is to determine whether potential cognitive effects arise from direct actions on neural circuits, indirect consequences of improved cardiometabolic health, or both. This Review examines the evidence across...
From cave adaptation to ageing resilience: the Mexican cavefish Astyanax mexicanus
The Mexican cavefish, Astyanax mexicanus, is a powerful evolutionary model for investigating how adaptation to extreme environments reshapes vertebrate physiology. Multiple cave populations have independently evolved under subterranean conditions, acquiring traits including insulin resistance, persistent hyperglycaemia, increased adiposity, altered sleep patterns, hypoxia tolerance and extensive metabolic reprogramming. Despite these differences, cavefish exhibit lifespans comparable to those of...
You keep using that word: "healthy" does not mean what you think it means in older adult gait research
In older adult gait research, "healthy" often characterizes study samples yet is typically defined by absence of disease rather than by positive characterization. This matters beyond gait, because such samples anchor reference values, mobility thresholds, and estimates of age-related decline. This scoping review examined how "healthy" is defined and operationalized in the older adult gait literature. Following PRISMA-ScR guidance, a search of Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, MEDLINE, and PubMed...
Resistant hypertension and accelerated vascular aging: evidence for PTEN-AKT-associated cellular senescence
Resistant hypertension (RH) is increasingly linked to accelerated vascular aging and is particularly prevalent among older and obese individuals. Cellular senescence has emerged as a potential driver of vascular aging, but its contribution to RH remains unclear. We examined age and body mass index (BMI) in the WalkByLab cohort and assessed whether RH was associated with vascular features consistent with accelerated aging. Obesity-related transcriptomic datasets were integrated with a curated...
Obesity pharmacotherapies and cognition
Pharmacotherapies for obesity and type 2 diabetes are increasingly being evaluated for their effects on cognition and brain health. Evidence from preclinical models, observational cohorts, and clinical trials has intensified interest, but findings remain mixed. A central challenge is to determine whether potential cognitive effects arise from direct actions on neural circuits, indirect consequences of improved cardiometabolic health, or both. This Review examines the evidence across...
Decline in mitochondrial health and lysosomal acidification in human neurons during normal aging
CONCLUSION: This study shows for the first time age-related mitophagy impairment in human neurons, and confirms findings of age-related mitochondrial impairments in human neurons. By doing so, this study paves the way for more in-depth mechanistic studies that would allow for the identification of therapeutic targets for anti-aging treatment and in the context of age-associated neurodegenerative diseases.
Notch/NF-kappaB crosstalk signaling controls SASP gene expression during brain aging
Brain aging is associated with chronic, low-grade inflammation known as inflammaging, which is largely driven by senescent glial cells secreting pro-inflammatory factors termed as senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). In humans, the release of SASP factors in the brain is linked with an increased risk for the development of neurodegenerative disorders; thus, elucidating the underlying molecular mechanisms is essential for understanding the pathophysiology of brain aging. Both NF-κB...
Are brain-scanning hard hats a safety dream—or a privacy nightmare?
Construction and mining firms are rolling out devices that track workers’ fatigue. Critics say the tech could be misused by authorities
Hydrogen Derivatives Enable Cost-Effective Carbon Neutrality in China
Opportunistically Detecting Signs of Hypertension on a Consumer Smartwatch
The surprising reason women in academia do more parenting than men
Quantum gases below 10 picokelvin in space
Science, Ahead of Print.