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Say hello to the next generation of lobsters — August’s best science images
When do infections lead to long COVID? Scientists close in on triggers and treatments for post-viral syndromes
City of slop
Author Correction: Signalling thresholds and negative B-cell selection in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
UN finally admits global warming will shoot past 1.5 ºC climate limit
Satellite images before Nepal disaster showed warning signs
Too much coffee may weaken bones, study finds
Following nearly 10,000 older women for 10 years, researchers found that tea drinking was associated with slightly higher hip bone density. Moderate coffee consumption did not appear harmful, but drinking more than five cups a day was linked to lower bone density. The findings suggest tea may offer a small bone-health boost, while excessive coffee could carry some drawbacks.
Your neighborhood in your 20s may shape your heart decades later
Where you live in early adulthood may quietly shape your heart health for decades. Researchers found that adverse neighborhood conditions were linked to a higher risk of coronary artery calcification in midlife, an early warning sign of cardiovascular disease.
Obesity leaves a lasting memory in immune cells
Obesity appears to leave a molecular imprint on key immune cells that may persist for 5 to 10 years after weight loss. This long-lasting “obesity memory” could help explain why some obesity-related health risks remain elevated even after body weight returns to normal.
Ancient sheep virus found hiding in medieval parchment
Newly recovered sheeppox sequences reveal when and how the virus emerged
Mindfulness may lower blood pressure in just 8 weeks
Mindfulness, gratitude, and optimism training may improve blood pressure, inflammation, and other heart-health measures within just eight to 12 weeks. The strongest programs paired daily practice with regular reinforcement, suggesting that improving psychological well-being could become another tool for protecting cardiovascular health.
Reaching 90 without dementia doesn’t mean you’re in the clear
A study of people over 90 found that dementia risk remains strongly shaped by sex, race and genetics, with women and black participants facing notably higher risks. Intriguingly, some people stayed cognitively healthy despite carrying major risk factors, potentially offering clues to how the brain can resist dementia deep into old age.
Enhancing the longevity of lithium-manganese-rich layered oxides by promoting oxygen redox reversibility
To enable widespread adoption of electric vehicles, positive-electrode materials must fulfill high energy, long-term stability, and earth-abundant composition within large-format architectures. Lithium-manganese-rich layered oxides show promise through high energy enabled by oxygen redox chemistry and abundant manganese content while minimizing cobalt content. However, oxygen redox irreversibility and gas evolution present challenges in its adoption to large-format cells. Here, we reveal how...
Anisotropy-mediated stress regulation in Mn-substituted VOPO<sub>4</sub> enables aqueous zinc batteries with long cycle life
The structural integrity of layered VOPO(4) frameworks critically determines their electrochemical performance in aqueous zinc-ion batteries, yet the highly ordered stacking of VOPO(4) renders it susceptible to lattice stress accumulation and chemo-mechanical degradation during cycling, causing rapid capacity fading and a shortened battery lifespan. Herein, we show a strategy to alleviate these limitations through partial metal substitution in the VOPO(4) lattice, enabling the modulation of...
The gut microbiota and gut-brain axis in Alzheimer's disease: From pathogenesis to treatment
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder whose pathological course involves amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition, tau abnormalities, neuroinflammation, and neurovascular dysfunction. Interest in the microbiota-gut-brain axis does not arise because gut dysbiosis has been established as an independent initiating cause of sporadic AD, but because this axis connects modifiable peripheral factors-including diet, medication, ageing, and intestinal physiology-with barrier homeostasis,...
Physical function moderates the relationship between white matter characteristics and gait variability during uneven terrain walking in aging
Navigating uneven terrain poses a significant challenge for older adults, often resulting in falls. Identifying the neural correlates of walking on uneven terrain might help understand the mechanisms of age-related mobility decline. We examined age and physical function group differences in white matter microstructure and tested whether associations between white matter measures and uneven-terrain walking behavior differed between these groups. Twenty-two young adults (22.45 ± 2.58 years) and 86...
Aging vs. biological age: Conceptual considerations for age reversal claims
Whether reversal of biological age and/or aging is possible is among the most actively debated topics in the field of aging. Here, we consider the meaning of biological age reversal and its burden of proof, focusing on foundational issues and the language we use to debate these questions.
The gut microbiota and gut-brain axis in Alzheimer's disease: From pathogenesis to treatment
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder whose pathological course involves amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition, tau abnormalities, neuroinflammation, and neurovascular dysfunction. Interest in the microbiota-gut-brain axis does not arise because gut dysbiosis has been established as an independent initiating cause of sporadic AD, but because this axis connects modifiable peripheral factors-including diet, medication, ageing, and intestinal physiology-with barrier homeostasis,...
Targeting senescence-associated biomarkers: Emerging strategies for anti-ageing therapy
Ageing research has undergone a paradigm shift from descriptive theories to a mechanistic understanding grounded in the interconnected biological processes. This work synthesizes the current landscape of ageing research, emphasizing the critical role of biomarkers in translating mechanistic insights into clinical application. Biomarkers, ranging from molecular and cellular markers to functional and imaging parameters, serve as essential tools for quantifying biological age, assessing the...
The force-producing fraction: muscle quality as a therapeutic target in sarcopenia and a design framework for trials that can test it
Sarcopenia has consensus criteria on three continents and an all-cause mortality hazard ratio near 1.6, yet no drug is approved for the primary age-related condition and agents that reliably enlarge muscle have not improved the strength and gait-speed endpoints that define it. We approach this translational failure from the biology rather than the pipeline. Ageing degrades four properties of skeletal muscle that jointly determine force production and are each druggable in principle: innervation,...