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Exercise doesn't just strengthen your heart. It rewires it
Regular exercise does more than strengthen the heart. New research reveals that it actually reshapes the nerves controlling how the heart functions, and the changes are surprisingly different on the left and right sides of the body.
Chromosome-scale genome assembly and annotation of <em>Octodon degus</em>
High-quality reference genomes are essential for comparative and functional genomics yet remain unavailable for many emerging model organisms. Here, we report OctDeg2.0, a chromosome-level genome assembly and annotation of the degu (Octodon degus), generated using PacBio HiFi long-read sequencing and Hi-C scaffolding from a single male individual. Octodon degus is of growing interest as a natural animal model for aging and Alzheimer's disease research. The 3.4 billion base-pair assembly...
Resting EEG as a condition-dependent ageing phenotype
Resting-state electroencephalography is increasingly proposed as a scalable marker of healthy brain ageing, yet its interpretability depends on distinguishing stable individual characteristics from condition-dependent measurement effects. This secondary analysis of an open lifespan dataset examined periodic alpha activity, alpha-peak detectability, aperiodic spectral structure, short-term repeatability, and longitudinal change under eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions before and after an...
Chromosome-scale genome assembly and annotation of <em>Octodon degus</em>
High-quality reference genomes are essential for comparative and functional genomics yet remain unavailable for many emerging model organisms. Here, we report OctDeg2.0, a chromosome-level genome assembly and annotation of the degu (Octodon degus), generated using PacBio HiFi long-read sequencing and Hi-C scaffolding from a single male individual. Octodon degus is of growing interest as a natural animal model for aging and Alzheimer's disease research. The 3.4 billion base-pair assembly...
Dissecting the shared genetic architecture of adipose tissue aging and aging-related lipid-metabolic dysfunction: a multivariate genomic analysis
Adipose tissue aging is increasingly recognized as a systemic process involving altered fat distribution, ectopic lipid deposition, and metabolic dysfunction, yet its shared genetic architecture remains incompletely characterized. In this study, we constructed a latent multivariate genetic phenotype of adipose tissue aging by integrating genome-wide association summary statistics for seven adipose- and metabolism-related traits, including visceral adipose tissue volume, abdominal subcutaneous...
Neuronal DNA repair mediates systemic mitochondrial maintenance through acetylcholine signaling
DNA repair defects such as nucleotide excision repair (NER) mutations can lead to progeroid syndromes characterized by growth retardation and accelerated aging with distinct tissue type specific pathologies. DNA-damage-induced dysfunction of specific cell types can impair the organism's overall function. It is unknown whether, in reverse, DNA repair in specific tissues can have non-cell-autonomous consequences on other tissues carrying DNA damage. To explore the organismal consequences of...
The transcription factor BCL11A restores differentiation potential to aged oligodendrocyte progenitor cells
In young animals, oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) in the CNS efficiently differentiate into myelinating oligodendrocytes (OLs), whereas ageing reduces this capacity, impairing remyelination following demyelinating injury and adaptive myelination involved in learning. To identify factors that restore resilience in aged OPCs, we developed gSWITCH (https://altoslabs.shinyapps.io/gSWITCH/, https://github.com/Tanay-math/gSWITCH), a computational pipeline that captures dynamic gene-expression...
Long-term trends, age-period-cohort patterns, and future projections of incident stroke with comorbid hypertension and diabetes among older adults in Shenzhen, China: a population-based surveillance study
CONCLUSIONS: Among older adults in Shenzhen, the burden of stroke with comorbid hypertension and diabetes showed a long-term upward trajectory over the study period. Model-based projections suggested that the burden may increase from 2024 to 2033, particularly among males and older age groups. These findings provide population-level descriptive and projection evidence that may inform risk stratification and health service planning for ageing urban populations.
Life satisfaction in later life: the role of economic security, health, and religious belief among urban Iranian older adults
CONCLUSION: Life satisfaction in later life is associated with a multidimensional interplay of structural resources, health status, and existential orientation. Socioeconomic security and religious belief emerged as significant predictors of well-being, after controlling for health status. These findings highlight the importance of integrated policies addressing both material and psychosocial predictors of aging well.
Older adults' engagement with social prescribing to active ageing centres in Singapore: a qualitative study from public primary care
CONCLUSIONS: Uptake and sustained engagement with SP via AAC referral appeared to be shaped less by individual capability than by physical opportunity, social opportunity and motivation. Primary care providers are well placed to facilitate engagement by leveraging trusted patient relationships, while centre managers and policymakers should address structural barriers such as zoning restrictions, language mismatch and age-identity mismatch. These findings offer actionable insights to optimise the...
Latent profiles of the perceived age-friendliness of cities and communities in Colombia: relations to ageism experiences in later life
Age-friendly cities and communities (AFCC), together with initiatives to combat ageism, are recognised as two of the four action areas of the United Nations (UN) Decade of Healthy Ageing, have received global attention. However, there is a lack of understanding regarding the distinct experiences of older adults in their cities and communities, as well as the extent to which these experiences are linked to their perceptions of ageism. Using a sample of 398 older adults from four cities in...
Cardiovascular resilience in centenarians
Centenarians - individuals aged ≥100 years - provide a unique human model for understanding resilience to cardiovascular ageing. Although cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, including hypertension, heart failure, atrial fibrillation and chronic kidney disease, are common in centenarians, their onset is typically delayed relative to that in individuals aged 80-100 years. Centenarians characteristically have structural changes in the heart and vessels, including concentric left ventricular...
AI detects “invisible” signs of pancreatic cancer years before diagnosis
A powerful new AI system could help doctors detect pancreatic cancer years before it becomes visible on conventional scans. The technology, called REDMOD, identified hidden warning signs an average of 475 days before diagnosis and was nearly twice as sensitive as experienced radiologists. By spotting cancer-related changes at their earliest stages, it could dramatically improve the chances of successful treatment for one of the deadliest forms of cancer.