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Spiky projections on plant matter may act like “drain snakes,” helping felines dislodge wads of fur

Finding highlights promise, questions about detectors of AI-generated text

α-Synuclein aggregation is a hallmark of Parkinson's disease and related synucleinopathies. Extracellular α-synuclein fibrils enter naive cells via endocytosis, followed by transit into the cytoplasm to seed endogenous α-synuclein aggregation. Intracellular aggregates sequester numerous proteins, including subunits of the endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT)-III system for endolysosome membrane repair, but the toxic effects of these events remain poorly understood. Using...

A multidimensional social exposome (MSE)-the combined lifespan measures of education, food insecurity, financial status, access to healthcare, childhood experiences, and more-may shape dementia risk and brain health over the lifespan, particularly in underserved regions like Latin America. However, the MSE effects on brain health and dementia are unknown. We evaluated 2211 individuals (controls, Alzheimer's disease, and frontotemporal lobar degeneration) from a non-representative sample across...

Stroke prevention is one of the pillars of management in elderly patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), hence effective and safe anticoagulation strategies are needed. While available anticoagulants target coagulation factors involved in thrombus formation, their bleeding complications and limitations in aging populations underscore the necessity for novel agents. Factor XI/XIa (FXI/XIa), which selectively targets the intrinsic coagulation pathway, offers a promising approach by attenuating...

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Even among cognitively intact older adults, subtle global cognitive decline predicted higher risk of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, insomnia, falls, and impaired daily functioning. Profiles with orientation deficits were vulnerable to depression, shopping, and banking difficulties, whereas global impairment with preserved orientation was linked to increased anxiety symptoms. Implementing early cognitive screening for cognitively intact older adults and...

A multidimensional social exposome (MSE)-the combined lifespan measures of education, food insecurity, financial status, access to healthcare, childhood experiences, and more-may shape dementia risk and brain health over the lifespan, particularly in underserved regions like Latin America. However, the MSE effects on brain health and dementia are unknown. We evaluated 2211 individuals (controls, Alzheimer's disease, and frontotemporal lobar degeneration) from a non-representative sample across...

Pathogenic missense mutations in the alpha actin isotype 2 (ACTA2) gene cause multisystemic smooth muscle dysfunction syndrome (MSMDS), a genetic vasculopathy that is associated with stroke, aortic dissection and death in childhood. Here we perform mutation-specific protein engineering to develop a bespoke CRISPR-Cas9 enzyme with enhanced on-target activity against the most common MSMDS-causative mutation ACTA2 R179H. To directly correct the R179H mutation, we screened dozens of configurations...

Ageing is characterized by progressive functional decline and increase in disease risk and imposes substantial burdens on human health. Identifying aging biomarkers in primates is crucial for advancing our understanding of human ageing and for informing interventions to mitigate age-related pathologies. However, a comprehensive grasp of these biomarkers is still lacking, hindering the translation of fundamental research into clinical practice. In this Review, we present the current knowledge on...

Autophagosome closure by the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) complex is a prerequisite for their dynamin 2 (DNM2)-dependent release from the recycling endosome and subsequent lysosomal clearance. However, the mechanism that coordinates autophagosome closure and release is unknown. We identified that the Alzheimer's disease-associated protein bridging integrator 1 (BIN1) is a critical mediator of this coordination. Prior to autophagosome closure, BIN1 is held at...

INTRODUCTION: Cognitive decline is part of the normal aging process, but also a major risk factor for dementia. Cognitive training interventions aim to attenuate cognitive decline, but training gains need to be transferable to untrained cognitive abilities to influence everyday function. Furthermore, the neurobiological basis of cognitive training gain transfer remains elusive. A possible candidate is increased bilateral hemisphere usage enabled by efficient structural connectivity, especially...

INTRODUCTION: Previous studies provided inconclusive results regarding the effects of aging on the ability to flexibly switch between task rules (local switch cost). The goal of the present study was to investigate the influence of age on the local switch costs at two levels of difficulty (easy task switching: two task rules vs. difficult task switching: four task rules).

CONCLUSION: Hand dexterity (NHPT) and specific functional mobility tasks (5CRT, 4MWT) are robust, independent predictors of cognition in older adults. Grip strength, balance, usual gait speed, and gait variability offer limited additional value when assessed together. The NHPT and timed SPPB components are accessible, pragmatic tools for motor-cognitive research and screening.

Autophagosome closure by the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) complex is a prerequisite for their dynamin 2 (DNM2)-dependent release from the recycling endosome and subsequent lysosomal clearance. However, the mechanism that coordinates autophagosome closure and release is unknown. We identified that the Alzheimer's disease-associated protein bridging integrator 1 (BIN1) is a critical mediator of this coordination. Prior to autophagosome closure, BIN1 is held at...

Oxytocin is essential in shaping social behavior across the lifespan. Although the role of oxytocin signaling in parental care has been widely investigated, little is known about its function in social behavior during early life. We studied the role of oxytocin in mouse pup social behavior during acute separation from the mother as well as upon reunion. The activity of oxytocin neurons was increased by acute maternal separation. Behaviorally, maternally separated pups emitted more ultrasonic...

The hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channel is a voltage-gated cation channel that plays a crucial role in regulating cellular excitability, especially in cardiac pacemaker cells and neurons. Its dysregulation is linked to heart diseases such as bradycardia and neurological disorders such as epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and neuropathic pain. Structural and functional studies have revealed that the S4 voltage sensor of the HCN channel moves downward during...

Neural oscillations comprise periodic and aperiodic components, which have been linked to cognitive functions. Changes in oscillatory activity as a function of age and musical training may related to cognitive decline and the protective effects of lifelong musical training. However, there are inconsistencies in prior studies assessing the changes in alpha oscillations with age and musical training experience, which did not consider the putative impact of the aperiodic activity. In this study, we...

Influenza A virus (IAV) infection causes significantly greater morbidity and mortality in the elderly population, but the molecular mechanisms in the aging process responsible for severe infection remain unclear. In this study, we found that increased severity in IAV infection and reduced innate immune response correlated with extensive mitophagy in senescent human cells and in the lung of aged mice. Apolipoprotein D (ApoD) was identified as strongly elevated in the lungs and sera of aged human...