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How AI is revealing the language of the birds
Tropical forest’s last old growth is being toppled — illegally
Stories of people, past, present and future: Books in brief
A primary cilia–autophagy axis in hippocampal neurons is essential to maintain cognitive resilience
What sparked the COVID pandemic? Mounting evidence points to raccoon dogs
Experimental evolution of evolvability
Science, Volume 387, Issue 6736, February 2025.
Antiviral signaling of a type III CRISPR-associated deaminase
Science, Volume 387, Issue 6736, February 2025.
A neural basis for prosocial behavior toward unresponsive individuals
Science, Volume 387, Issue 6736, February 2025.
Reviving-like prosocial behavior in response to unconscious or dead conspecifics in rodents
Science, Volume 387, Issue 6736, February 2025.
Disease diagnostics using machine learning of B cell and T cell receptor sequences
Science, Volume 387, Issue 6736, February 2025.
More NIH job cuts coming? Agency’s scientists already reeling after week of firings
NIH is appealing loss of some lab leaders among in-house research program while bracing for the next actions from Trump administration
U.S. early-career researchers struggling amid chaos
Uncertain funding, government firings, and distressed universities hit vulnerable groups especially hard
Modest telescope with big plans, SPHEREx will probe cosmic ‘inflation’ after Big Bang
Spacecraft with gather and analyze infrared light in new ways to explain why our universe is “boring”
Judge says ban on NIH cut to overhead payments stands—for the moment
Temporary order blocking the change extended until a decision is handed down
Stressed microglia turn to the dark side in Alzheimer's disease
A microglia subpopulation termed "dark microglia" has been associated with aging and neurodegeneration, although its role has remained elusive. New research from Flury et al. in this issue of Neuron shows that dark microglia drive neurodegeneration via secretion of toxic lipids.¹.
Large-scale proteomic analyses of incident Parkinson's disease reveal new pathophysiological insights and potential biomarkers
The early pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease (PD) is poorly understood. We analyzed 2,920 Olink-measured plasma proteins in 51,804 UK Biobank participants, identifying 859 incident PD cases after 14.45 years. We found 38 PD-related proteins, with six of the top ten validated in the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) cohort. ITGAV, HNMT and ITGAM showed consistent significant association (hazard ratio: 0.11-0.57, P = 6.90 × 10^(-24) to 2.10 × 10^(-11)). Lipid metabolism...
Stressed microglia turn to the dark side in Alzheimer's disease
A microglia subpopulation termed "dark microglia" has been associated with aging and neurodegeneration, although its role has remained elusive. New research from Flury et al. in this issue of Neuron shows that dark microglia drive neurodegeneration via secretion of toxic lipids.¹.
Can a novel set of handgrips on a walking frame increase stability and support users when transferring to/from a chair?
INTRODUCTION: One important aspect of walking aid use is transferring safely to the aid from sitting and transferring back to the chair after walking, since these activities have been associated with falls in older adults. Standard frames require their user to push off the chair or ask for help from a carer, which may over time lead to back pain. This study's aim was to assess whether novel handgrips located above the rear feet of a walking frame would facilitate safe transfer as compared to...
Activity-based sensing reveals elevated labile copper promotes liver aging via hepatic ALDH1A1 depletion
Oxidative stress plays a key role in aging and related diseases, including neurodegeneration, cancer, and organ failure. Copper (Cu), a redox-active metal ion, generates reactive oxygen species (ROS), and its dysregulation contributes to aging. Here, we develop activity-based imaging probes for the sensitive detection of Cu(I) and show that labile hepatic Cu activity increases with age, paralleling a decline in ALDH1A1 activity, a protective hepatic enzyme. We also observe an age-related...
Neuronal FAM171A2 mediates alpha-synuclein fibril uptake and drives Parkinson's disease
Neuronal accumulation and spread of pathological α-synuclein (α-syn) fibrils are key events in Parkinson's disease (PD) pathophysiology. However, the neuronal mechanisms underlying the uptake of α-syn fibrils remain unclear. In this work, we identified FAM171A2 as a PD risk gene that affects α-syn aggregation. Overexpressing FAM171A2 promotes α-syn fibril endocytosis and exacerbates the spread and neurotoxicity of α-syn pathology. Neuronal-specific knockdown of FAM171A2 expression shows...