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The Immune System and Cellular Senescence: A Complex Interplay in Aging and Disease
Immunosenescence is the process of immune dysfunction and gradual deterioration of the immune system associated with aging, while cellular senescence is the stable cell cycle arrest that can occur in non-immune or immune cells in response to stress or damage. Immunosenescence significantly impacts both the innate and adaptive immune responses and is characterised by physical changes in lymphoid organs, as well as dysfunctions in cellular and molecular mechanisms. Key features of immunosenescence...
Enhancing peripheral nerve regeneration in aging: the role of Schwann cells, c-Jun, and emerging therapeutic strategies
Peripheral nerve injuries (PNI) present a significant challenge, particularly in aging populations where Schwann cell dysfunction, reduced c-Jun expression, increased senescence, and impaired myelin clearance hinder regeneration. Targeted therapies aim to restore Schwann cell plasticity and improve nerve repair. These include gene therapy to upregulate c-Jun, senolytic agents to eliminate senescent Schwann cells, pharmacological activation of JNK, ferroptosis inhibition, and stem cell-based...
Daily briefing: The most- and least-improved countries for chronic disease
Childhood vaccines up for review in the US: what’s at stake
<b>World's most energy-efficient AI supercomputer comes online</b>
How to help refugees thrive: have local families host them
Jeremy D. Walston (1961–2025)
Why we launched Denmark’s second Young Academy (and what’s different about it)
Maintenance
LIGO is 10 years old: black-hole breakthroughs will ‘only get better’
These nations are wooing PhD students amid US funding uncertainties
Gold-covered hairballs may reveal why cats eat grass
Spiky projections on plant matter may act like “drain snakes,” helping felines dislodge wads of fur
Far more authors use AI to write science papers than admit it, publisher reports
Finding highlights promise, questions about detectors of AI-generated text
α-Synuclein aggregates inhibit ESCRT-III through sequestration and collateral degradation
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...
Social exposome and brain health outcomes of dementia across Latin America
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...
Use of factor XI/XIa inhibitors in patients with atrial fibrillation: Current progress and future prospects
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...
Latent Cognitive Profiles Predict 1-Year Mental Health, Insomnia, Falls, Daily Functioning, and Pain in US Older Adults: A National Longitudinal Study
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...
Social exposome and brain health outcomes of dementia across Latin America
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...
Treatment of a severe vascular disease using a bespoke CRISPR-Cas9 base editor in mice
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...
Biomarkers of ageing of humans and non-human primates
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...