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Political directives have undermined agency's independence and record of supporting the best basic research

More than 1200 scientists and developers explore how large language models can be applied to materials science and chemistry

In games with toys, “gifted” dogs can extend names to new objects with the same purpose as known ones

Flies, beetles, wasps, and other creatures from the Cretaceous reveal ecosystems details of the Gondwanan supercontinent

Alzheimer's disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, is characterized by a decline in brain volume and neuronal loss, with early symptoms often presenting as short-term memory impairment. Automated classification of Alzheimer's disease remains a significant challenge due to inter-patient variability in brain morphology, aging effects, and overlapping anatomical features across different stages. While traditional machine learning techniques, such as Support Vector Machines (SVMs) and...

Alzheimer's disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, is characterized by a decline in brain volume and neuronal loss, with early symptoms often presenting as short-term memory impairment. Automated classification of Alzheimer's disease remains a significant challenge due to inter-patient variability in brain morphology, aging effects, and overlapping anatomical features across different stages. While traditional machine learning techniques, such as Support Vector Machines (SVMs) and...

Global warming intensifies wildfires and exacerbates greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions¹. However, global projections remain incomplete, hindering effective policy interventions amid uncertain warming futures². Here, we developed an interpretable machine learning framework to project global burned areas and wildfire emissions. This framework accounts for the impacts of future climate change on fire activity and quantifies associated premature deaths and radiative forcing from fire-induced...

The mechanisms of aging are becoming increasingly well mapped; however, there remains ongoing debate about the ultimate and proximate causes of aging. The recent development of highly precise aging clocks led to a resurgence of arguments in support of a biological program of aging. However, the declining force of natural selection after the onset of reproduction means that cellular function could deteriorate without requiring a specific program. Here, we argue that aging clocks do not imply an...

Tau protein truncated at Asp 421 is a characteristic feature of Alzheimer's disease and other tauopathies. Here, we show that a monoclonal antibody against Asp421, 5G2, cleared insoluble tau in the brains of JNPL3 mice, decreased tau levels in brain interstitial fluid in awake JNPL3 mice, improved in vivo neuronal function, and reduced microglial Iba-1 expression in PS19 mice, in which neuronal tau aggregation and dysfunction occurred earlier than microglial activation. For mechanistic insight...

Synapse pruning sculpts neural circuits throughout life. The human Leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptor type B2 (LilrB2)/murine Paired immunoglobulin receptor B (PirB) receptors expressed in neurons and complement protein C4 have been separately implicated in pruning. Here, we report that C4d, a C4 cleavage product with unknown function, binds LilrB2/PirB with nanomolar affinity. C4d and LilrB2 colocalize at excitatory synapses in the human cerebral cortex as well as with beta amyloid in...

Z-form DNA (Z-DNA)-binding protein 1 (ZBP1)-mediated RNA sensing plays a critical role in tumor immunogenicity. However, how to augment ZBP1 signaling-mediated immunogenic tumor cell death to boost targeted therapy is yet unknown. Here, we demonstrated that epigenetic modulation by 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5AZA) facilitated antitumor effects of anti-HER2 therapy, which requires antitumor CD8^(+) T cell responses initiated by ZBP1-mediated tumor immunogenicity. Moreover, the combination of...

Poor sleep quality is associated with increased frailty in older adults, but the role of the gut microbiome in this relationship remains unclear. Here, gut metagenome and plasma metabolome were profiled in 1,225 individuals aged 62-96 years. Poor sleep quality was associated with reduced abundances of potential probiotics such as Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and elevated abundances of pathobionts. A gut microbiome sleep quality index (GMSI) was developed to quantify microbial balance related to...

CONCLUSIONS: Our study identifies a significant relationship between negative wealth shocks and biological aging in middle-aged and older adults. This suggests that socioeconomic factors, particularly sudden economic losses and fluctuations, should be considered in strategies for promoting healthy longevity and aging interventions. Additionally, there is a need for unemployment protection policies or measures to help stabilize medical and food consumption for households or individuals during...

Sharp drop in grant awards leaves researchers frustrated