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CONCLUSIONS: Female sex and physical activity were associated with lower physiological dysregulation, whereas higher BMI was associated with greater dysregulation. These findings underscore the importance of sex differences and modifiable lifestyle factors, particularly physical activity and adiposity in multisystem physiological burden among older US adults.

The Backrooms began as a single eerie image of empty yellow rooms, but internet users transformed it into a vast fictional world that feels disturbingly real. Through videos, games, maps, survival guides and social media stories, audiences do more than watch the horror unfold. They help build and explore it. Researchers suggest this popularity reflects a new kind of digital tourism, where people emotionally enter imaginary places filled with mystery, nostalgia and unease.

Even mild inflammation during pregnancy led mouse offspring to develop persistent brain overactivity, sensory sensitivity, repetitive behaviors, and increased seizure risk. Remarkably, one dose of rapamycin improved nearly all of these problems within about two hours. The benefits were temporary, but they suggest that adult brain circuits may remain far more adaptable than previously believed.

Scientists expected SuperAgers might simply inherit fewer Alzheimer’s-related risks, but their genes looked much like those of typical older adults. Their extraordinary memories may instead come from still-unknown protective forces involving the brain, body, lifestyle, and environment.

A major long-term study linked coffee consumption with lower risks of cirrhosis, liver cancer, and death from liver disease. Coffee drinkers also showed healthier liver scans and blood protein patterns, with less fat, inflammation, and scarring. Benefits appeared even at one or two cups daily and were strongest around three to four cups.

Newer oral drugs related to semaglutide medications such as Ozempic reduced pleasure-driven eating in mice by quieting a deep brain reward circuit. The finding could open new avenues for understanding food cravings and potentially treating substance use disorder.

A prebiotic fiber supplement reduced knee osteoarthritis pain while also improving grip strength and pain sensitivity in a six-week trial. The results hint at a fascinating gut-muscle-pain connection and suggest that a simple daily supplement may be easier to maintain than digital physiotherapy.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia, yet current therapies provide limited clinical benefit. Neuroinflammation, as an early and sustained driver of AD, places the NLRP3 inflammasome at the center of pathological and therapeutic focus. In this review, we synthesize recent advances in the structure, assembly, and activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, and evaluate its contribution to AD using evidence from human brain tissues, cerebrospinal fluid, and diverse AD animal models....

Age is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, yet the molecular mechanisms underlying human cardiac aging are not fully understood. Using bulk RNA sequencing data from the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project, we identified cardiac age-associated genes by intersecting transcripts significantly correlated with age in both the atrial appendage and left ventricle, while excluding those similarly altered in skeletal muscle. Among these, 131 genes were positively correlated with age,...

Satellite cells (SCs) are essential for skeletal muscle regeneration, but their function declines with aging, often associated with increased pro-apoptotic signaling. This study investigated the impact of in vitro serum starvation-as a model of acute microenvironmental and nutrient stress-on the apoptosis and differentiation potential of human SCs from young and aged donors. SCs were isolated from the Vastus Lateralis of young and aged subjects and cultured in serum-free medium for up to 72 h....

We examined whether a genome-wide polygenic lifespan score (PLS) is associated with all-cause mortality and how this association compares with associations between long-term lifestyle factors and mortality. The PLS was computed for the older Finnish Twin Cohort (mean age 57.4 years; 45.2% men; N = 5575). Cox regression was used to estimate the effects of the PLS on all-cause mortality risk, before and after adding sex, physical activity, BMI, alcohol consumption, smoking behavior, and education...

Genotype-first screening compares patient genomes to a standard reference. The GRCh38 linear assembly contains reference minor alleles (RMAs), posing a critical structural vulnerability for automated clinical variant classification. To determine whether RMAs systematically generate false-positive annotations, we conducted an observational case series of 20 healthy adults undergoing preventive genome sequencing. Automated bioinformatic processing was performed using the GRCh38 linear reference to...

Falls in older adults are a significant public health concern. Action simulation interventions involving action observation and/or motor imagery have been proposed as alternative or adjunct strategies to physical exercise for reducing fall risk. These approaches may minimize barriers to physical practice and may specifically target deficits in motor planning that are linked to falls. The purpose of this scoping review is to examine how action simulation interventions have been applied and...

CONCLUSIONS: SIRT3 deficiency promotes age-related vascular impairment potentially by mediating EndMT and mitochondrial dysfunction, Thus, SIRT3 represents a potential therapeutic target for delaying vascular aging and associated cardiovascular diseases.

Stanford Medicine researchers have discovered a naturally occurring molecule that may suppress appetite and reduce body weight much like Ozempic, but without several of its common side effects. The molecule, called BRP, acts on a more targeted region of the brain involved in hunger and metabolism rather than affecting tissues throughout the body.

A sulfur-based compound called LASSS appears to protect and supercharge a key protein involved in repairing damaged muscle. The discovery could eventually lead to new ways to slow muscle loss and preserve strength as people age.

An experimental pill prevented a measles-like virus from spreading through the air or through close contact in ferrets. It worked when given shortly before or after exposure and also shortened illness and the period when infected animals remained contagious. Researchers say the drug could one day complement vaccination and make outbreaks easier to contain.

Science chats with cognitive psychologist Kelly Jaakkola about why this complex behavior is so difficult to find in the animal kingdom

With cancellation of health disparities project, agency may be testing new way to legally kill politically sensitive grants

Ozempic, Wegovy, and similar drugs may deliver excellent health value, but covering them for millions of eligible patients could overwhelm insurance budgets. Researchers say better long-term support is needed and warn that low-cost compounded versions may carry serious safety risks.