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A major new study reveals that drinking just two alcoholic beverages a day is associated with a 1 in 25 lifetime risk of death from alcohol-related causes, challenging the idea that moderate drinking is harmless. Researchers also found no significant overall health benefits from alcohol, with risks rising as consumption increases.

Scientists have discovered how pancreatic cancer cells continually reshape their genetic makeup to become more aggressive, spread, and evade treatment. In laboratory experiments, blocking a key gene reversed some of these dangerous changes, revealing a potential new way to fight the deadly disease.

A common, inexpensive medication could hold an unexpected clue to preventing dementia. Researchers found that older adults with a specific genetic profile had a 70% lower relative risk of dementia when taking low-dose aspirin, even though previous studies found no overall protective effect. The discovery suggests that genetics could help explain why some people benefit while others do not.

Aging is accompanied by a progressive decline in immune function, increasing susceptibility to infections, cancer, and poorer treatment outcomes. The diversity of the T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire, reflecting the capacity to recognize diverse antigens, is known to decline with age. However, how intrinsic and extrinsic factors jointly shape TCR diversity and its rate of decline, as well as the extent to which this diversity influences clinical outcomes in cancer, remain poorly characterized....

Mitochondria are central regulators of cellular metabolism, integrating energy production, redox balance, and signaling pathways that shape aging trajectories. If mitochondrial organization contributes to lifespan divergence, exceptionally long-lived species should exhibit distinctive metabolic signatures reflecting adaptations promoting long-term cellular maintenance. Comparative approaches across species with extreme lifespan variation provide a powerful framework for identifying potential...

Ginsenoside Rg1, the main active component of Panax ginseng, has been shown to improve mitochondrial function and delay cell aging by regulating chaperone-mediated mitophagy. However, how Rg1 works in Caenorhabditis elegans is still unclear. In this study, C. elegans was used as a model to study how Rg1 regulates autophagy and mitochondrial function, and to understand its anti-aging mechanism. The results showed that Rg1 treatment significantly kept cells alive and maintained muscle shape in...

For nearly a century, people in distant parts of the world have reported a bizarre experience after eating certain wild mushrooms: seeing dozens or even hundreds of tiny, colorful humans moving through the real world. Now, scientists have identified a mushroom species, Lanmaoa asiatica, responsible for these extraordinary hallucinations in China and the Philippines.

A cannabis-derived ingredient commonly found in sleep gummies may be more habit-forming than previously thought, with new research showing that repeated exposure caused tolerance and withdrawal symptoms in mice. Scientists warn that CBN may carry risks similar to THC, although its long-term effects in humans remain largely unknown.

Scientists have uncovered a surprising new clue to why the Mediterranean diet is so good for the heart, brain, and healthy aging. Researchers at USC found that older adults who closely followed the diet had higher levels of two tiny proteins, humanin and SHMOOSE, produced by the mitochondria, the energy-producing structures inside cells. These proteins have been linked to protection against heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, and age-related damage.

A small device that gently stimulates nerves through the ear could offer a new way to tackle stubborn high blood pressure. In a clinical trial of 63 patients already taking medication, the treatment proved safe, easy to use at home, and well tolerated. Although it did not significantly outperform a placebo overall, patients with more severe hypertension showed promising reductions in blood pressure.

A major study has uncovered hidden warning signs of inflammatory bowel disease in the blood up to 10 years before diagnosis. Researchers discovered distinct antibody patterns that could help predict who would later develop Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, even distinguishing people at risk of more complicated disease.

Scientists have discovered that switching off a protein called Mitch makes human cells burn more fat and prevents new fat cells from developing. The breakthrough builds on experiments in mice that showed remarkable resistance to obesity and improved muscular endurance, raising hopes for a new approach to weight-loss treatment.

The network of transcription factors (TFs) is an integral component of executing macroautophagy/autophagy-lysosome gene expression to maintain cellular homeostasis. Across metazoans, conserved TFs, particularly the helix-loop-helix factor TFEB, convert upstream signals into specific genetic programs through mechanisms ranging from DNA recognition and chromatin remodeling to biomolecular condensates. The dysregulation of TF-governed gene programming disrupts the progression of metabolic disease...

The concept of cognitive reserve (CR) and resilience originates from clinicopathological observations that amyloid-β deposition, tau pathology and neurodegeneration do not uniformly translate into clinical dementia, highlighting inter-individual differences in the brain's capacity to tolerate pathology. Although CR and resilience lack a single accepted definition, they broadly describe the ability to maintain cognition in the presence of age-related or pathological brain changes. This review...

CONCLUSION: In a society where appearance is important, appearance management suggests that it can be a psychological mechanism that goes beyond simply pursuing youthfulness and helps with self-awareness, personal growth, and adaptation to the aging process. Appearance management that fosters self-expression and personal capabilities can improve the quality of life of older people.

Aging is associated with functional decline and reduced regenerative capacity in the brain, is also the strongest risk factor for ischemic stroke, which remains a leading cause of mortality and long-term disability worldwide, and is associated with impaired functional recovery. Here, we investigated whether short-term partial cellular reprogramming through cyclic expression of Yamanaka factors (OSKM) in a Tet-ON mouse model under Rosa-26 promoter has any impact on ischemic damage in aged mice....

Minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) is a neurological complication associated with chronic liver disease characterized by subtle cognitive impairment and neuroinflammation, particularly in the aging population. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying age-associated MHE remain poorly understood. The present study investigated the role of Fetuin-A-mediated neuroinflammation and its potential as a therapeutic target in the management of MHE in old rats using pioglitazone in a thioacetamide...

Cognitive reserve (CR) is a broad framework for explaining why individuals differ in cognitive functioning in the face of aging and neuropathology. One influential mechanistic account proposes that cognitively demanding life experiences such as education, occupational complexity, and cognitively stimulating activities augment a domain-general cognitive capacity that subsequently provides resilience. We refer to this more specific claim as cognitive reserve augmentation (CRA). This narrative and...

CONCLUSION: Concordance between epigenetic-clock and clinical-outcome changes was inconsistent, with favorable signals concentrated mainly in selected intermediate outcomes. Epigenetic clocks should currently be considered exploratory or adjunctive biomarkers of intervention response rather than validated clinical surrogate endpoints.