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Girl’s death in China raises questions about the safety and cost of gene therapy, China’s biotech push, and scientific publishing practices

The 278 winners now face 9-month race to prove they deserve additional funding

Researchers have developed a fluoride-free gel that could help rebuild damaged tooth enamel, something the body cannot naturally replace once it is lost. Inspired by the proteins that guide enamel formation in infancy, the gel fills microscopic cracks and draws calcium and phosphate from saliva to grow a new mineral layer that closely matches healthy enamel.

Glassworms can hang out at pressures that would kill most humans, thanks to specialized air sacs

Parents want accountability after study went disastrously wrong, Science and Retraction Watch investigation reveals

A plant-derived compound reduced swelling, inflammation, and joint damage in rats with rheumatoid arthritis. It also helped rebalance immune activity and improve the way certain fats were processed in the body. Researchers say the findings could lead to a new approach for treating the disease.

Researchers found that specific brain circuits help decide which jobs bees perform as they age. When those circuits were switched off, older worker bees began caring for the queen again instead of carrying out their normal later-life duties. The findings reveal that a bee colony’s complex division of labor may be guided by neural switches hidden inside each bee’s brain.

Thousands of people will be screened for autoantibodies that help or hinder cancer

Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death among people under 50, and cases in younger adults continue to rise. Warning signs can include persistent bowel changes, recurring rectal bleeding, dark or narrow stools, unexplained weight loss, and fatigue. These symptoms often have harmless causes, but they should not be dismissed, especially when they are new or ongoing. Early detection can greatly improve treatment outcomes.

Miniature brain models grown from patients’ cells revealed striking differences in how Alzheimer’s-related tissue responds to an antidepressant. The organoids and the particles they release could eventually guide more personalized treatments and provide new clues for diagnosing the disease.

Catfish melanomas are the first example of a transmissible cancer in fish, genetic studies reveal

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Among community-dwelling older adults, MRI-derived muscle quality deteriorated substantially faster than muscle quantity over 4 years and more closely paralleled declines in physical performance. These findings suggest that age-related muscle deterioration is driven primarily by qualitative degeneration rather than simple loss of muscle mass and support the use of imaging-based muscle quality measures as sensitive biomarkers of biological muscle aging.

No abstract

CONCLUSION: HBDL-based free-weight resistance training is a safe, feasible, and effective strategy to improve body composition, trunk extensor function, and mobility in older women.

Homotypic targeting is the inherent ability of cells to preferentially interact with cells of the same type, a phenomenon seen in cell adhesion, tissue formation and immune responses. However, its potential remains underexploited. Here we report a strategy to substantially enhance homotypic targeting through extracellular vesicles secreted by cells. By engineering the surface of small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) with lanthanides, we amplify specific cell-sEV interactions by more than 25-fold,...

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a blood disorder affecting millions worldwide. Emerging evidence reveals that SCD pathophysiology increases the risk of myeloid malignancies and hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) dysfunction, likely because of chronic stress on bone marrow. To investigate this further, we interrogated bone marrow hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) from mice and individuals with SCD and observed molecular signatures of chronic cellular stress including oxidative stress, DNA...

Balance and lower limb muscle strength are essential factors in preventing falls in older adults. This randomized controlled trial investigated the effect of 8 weeks of dynamic neuromuscular stability (DNS) exercises on static balance, dynamic balance, and lower limb strength in older men. Thirty older men aged 61-76 years were randomly allocated to either a DNS exercise group (n = 15) or a control group (n = 15). The experimental group performed DNS exercises for 8 weeks (3 sessions/week),...

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR) are now recognized as integral components of the proteostasis network that preserves cellular and tissue function across the lifespan. With aging, increasing oxidative load, metabolic imbalance, and Ca²⁺ dysregulation elevate the burden of misfolded proteins in the ER, leading to progressive UPR engagement. When ER stress is mild or transient, UPR signaling restores folding capacity, restrains translation,...

17α-estradiol (17α-E2) extends median lifespan and improves metabolic homeostasis in male mice through estrogen receptor α (ERα)-dependent mechanisms, but female mice are largely unresponsive unless ovariectomized or subjected to chronic high-fat feeding. Whether the gradual hormonal transition of natural reproductive aging similarly unmasks female responsiveness to 17α-E2 remains unknown. We tested whether 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD)-induced depletion of the ovarian reserve would render...

Aging is characterized by a progressive decline in cellular and tissue function, shaped in part by disruptions in communication between the extracellular matrix (ECM) and intracellular signaling networks. The cell surface receptor CD44 functions as a molecular hub, integrating signals from a remodeled ECM to regulate core aging programs including senescence, inflammation, and metabolic balance. This review synthesizes evidence that CD44, through its structural domains, isoform diversity, and...