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US disruptions to science could transform global research landscape
Author Correction: Endocytosis in the axon initial segment maintains neuronal polarity
Outgoing head of heralded U.S. global HIV/AIDS program urges Trump to reverse cuts
John Nkengasong, who had helmed PEPFAR since 2022, says “history will remember we showed humanity”
After Columbia’s ‘nightmare,’ dozens more universities brace for Trump NIH cuts
Threats to end funding over alleged antisemitism are rocking medical researchers—and stoking calls for legal action
Scorching volcanic ash preserved ancient vulture in stunning detail
Superfine zeolite crystals captured feathery details such as color and shape
Potential therapeutic targets for Alzheimer's disease: Fibroblast growth factors and their regulation of ferroptosis, pyroptosis and autophagy
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressively worsening neurodegenerative disorder characterized primarily by the deposition of amyloid beta (Aβ) plaques in the brain and the abnormal aggregation of tau protein forming neurofibrillary tangles. These pathological changes lead to impaired neuronal function and cell death, subsequently affecting the structure and function of the brain. Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are a group of proteins that play crucial roles in various biological processes,...
Prevention of cardiovascular disease for healthy aging and longevity: A new scoring system and related "mechanisms-hallmarks-biomarkers"
Healthy "environment-sleep-emotion-exercise-diet" intervention [E(e)SEEDi] lifestyle can improve the quality of life, prolong aging and promote longevity due to improvement of human immunity and prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Here, the author reviewed the associations between these core elements with CVD and cardiovascular aging, and developed a new scoring system based on the healthy E(e)SEEDi lifestyle for prediction and evaluation of life expectancy. These core factors are...
Atg5 in microglia regulates sex-specific effects on postnatal neurogenesis in Alzheimer's disease
Female Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients display greater cognitive deficits and worse AD pathology as compared to male AD patients. In this study, we found that conditional knockout (cKO) of Atg5 in female microglia failed to obtain disease-associated microglia (DAM) gene signatures in familiar AD mouse model (5xFAD). Next, we analyzed the maintenance and neurogenesis of neural stem cells (NSCs) in the hippocampus and subventricular zone (SVZ) from 5xFAD mice with Atg5 cKO. Our data indicated...
Drosophila ovarian stem cell niche ageing involves coordinated changes in transcription and alternative splicing
Gene expression (GE) and alternative splicing (AS) contribute to the formation of new interaction networks with potentially significant cellular functions. Here, we investigate ageing in the Drosophila female germline stem cell (GSC) niche and describe functional changes in both GE and AS. The GSC niche comprises three types of support cells, whose ageing transcriptomes reveal differential GE and AS variations related to cell adhesion, cytoskeleton and neural signalling. Because each population...
Endosomal-lysosomal organellar assembly (ELYSA) structures coordinate lysosomal degradation systems through mammalian oocyte-to-embryo transition
Mouse oocytes undergo drastic changes in organellar composition and their activities during maturation from the germinal vesicle (GV) to metaphase II (MII) stage. After fertilization, the embryo degrades parts of the maternal components via lysosomal degradation systems, including autophagy and endocytosis, as zygotic gene expression begins during embryogenesis. Here, we demonstrate that endosomal-lysosomal organelles form large spherical assembly structures, termed endosomal-lysosomal...
The Epigenetic Landscape: From Molecular Mechanisms to Biological Aging
Epigenetics, the study of heritable changes in gene expression that do not involve alterations to the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequence, plays a pivotal role in cellular function, development, and aging. This review explores key epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation (DNAm), histone modifications, chromatin remodeling, RNA-based regulation, and long-distance chromosomal interactions. These modifications contribute to cellular differentiation and function, mediating the dynamic...
Cystatin-c / total cholesterol ratio as a predictor of probable sarcopenia in geriatric population from 12 European countries
CONCLUSION: Collectively, the CT ratio exhibits adequate prognostic accuracy for low HGS, which is not significantly affected by comorbidities and functional limitations. Our findings have clinical and policy implications in timely identifying older adults at risk of developing low HGS.
Older adults produce more verbal false memories than younger adults: is it semantics or executive functioning?
CONCLUSIONS: This study proposes a novel integration of semantic and executive mechanisms underlying the observed increase in false memories during aging, with inhibition playing an unexpected role in enhancing false memory susceptibility.
Cognitive reserve can impact trajectories in ageing: a longitudinal study
Trajectories of decline from healthy aging to dementia are not linear; they may range from a more attenuated to a more accelerated cognitive worsening. This longitudinal study investigates the impact of Cognitive Reserve (CR) on task performance in a cohort of 117 individuals (mean age 74.89; SD = 7.43) who experienced difficulties in everyday life and referred to a neuropsychology unit for cognitive assessment. Only participants assessed three times were included in the study. CR was estimated...
Epigenetic age acceleration and mortality risk prediction in US adults
Epigenetic clocks have emerged as novel measures of biological aging and potential predictors of mortality. We examined all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality prediction by epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) estimated using different epigenetic clocks. Among 2105 participants to the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey aged ≥ 50 years old and followed for mortality through 2019, we calculated EAAs from the residuals of nine epigenetic clocks regressed on...
Machine vision-based frailty assessment for genetically diverse mice
Frailty indexes (FIs) capture health status in humans and model organisms. To accelerate our understanding of biological aging and carry out scalable interventional studies, high-throughput approaches are necessary. We previously introduced a machine vision-based visual frailty index (vFI) that uses mouse behavior in the open field to assess frailty using C57BL/6J (B6J) data. Aging trajectories are highly genetic and are frequently modeled in genetically diverse animals. In order to extend the...
Sex differences in cognitive performance persist into your 80s
CONCLUSION: Our study confirms enduring sex differences in memory and executive function, even among individuals aged 80 and above. Current gonadal hormone levels do not mediate these differences. While estrogen may predict executive function, its influence does not explain the sex differences. These findings underscore the complex nature of cognitive disparities between sexes in older age, warranting further investigation into underlying mechanisms.
Assessing the gut microbiota composition in older adults: connections to physical activity and healthy ageing
The composition and functionality of the gut microbiota (GM) changes throughout the life course. As we move into older age, it starts to shift towards a less healthy one, which may lead to an imbalance in the GM community. Strategies that can reverse age-related dysbiosis are an important part of healthy aging. Little is known about the GM composition of older adults with different physical activity (PA) levels and whether it might contribute to healthy ageing. The aim of this study was to...
Fruit and vegetable consumption and injurious falls among adults aged ≥ 50 years from low- and middle-income countries
CONCLUSIONS: Inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption was associated with higher odds for injurious falls among adults aged ≥ 50 years (especially females), and this association was partly mediated by cognition, affect, and sleep/energy. Future longitudinal studies are necessary to provide more insight into the underlying mechanisms, and to assess whether increasing fruit/vegetable consumption may reduce risk for falls.
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