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Adults aged 40 and older performed about 12% faster on a test of executive function after using a HEPA air purifier at home for one month. The findings suggest that cleaner indoor air could offer a simple way to help protect the brain from the effects of traffic-related pollution.

Protein phase separation is a fundamental process in organizing membraneless organelles and is implicated in pathological conditions. Importantly, this process is dynamic and depends on conditions such as concentration, temperature, and solvent composition. However, current machine learning models infer phase separation propensity solely from amino acid sequences, failing to capture these context-dependent behaviors. Here we show that LLPSense, a machine learning framework that integrates...

Understanding the complex interplay between gene expression and neuronal activity is crucial for unraveling the molecular mechanisms underlying cognitive function and neurological disorders. Here, we developed pooled screens using CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) and the fluorescent calcium integrator CaMPARI2 to evaluate genetic modifiers of neuronal depolarization. Using this screening method, we evaluated 1343 genes for their effect on depolarization in a human iPSC-derived neuron model,...

Black carbon (BC) from biomass burning is a key component of the global carbon cycle, and radiocarbon (^(14)C) age of riverine BC is commonly used to constrain its terrestrial residence time. However, whether ^(14)C-free BC from fossil sources significantly contributes to riverine BC and biases these ages remains unclear. Here, we track dissolved and particulate BC (DBC, PBC) along a river continuum from forested headwaters to an urbanized estuary. This urbanization gradient allows us to...

Long-term exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation can cause sunburn, skin aging, and skin cancers. Conventional sunscreens typically combine organic UV filters and inorganic particles for photoprotection, yet concerns remain regarding skin penetration, systemic effects, and reactive oxygen species generation. Inspired by natural photoprotective mechanisms in plants, we develop a series of all-small-molecule sunscreen hydrogels based on natural polyphenols through a facile one-pot assembly...

Annual killifishes of the genus Nothobranchius compress a vertebrate life cycle into a few months, which is what makes them useful in aging research, yet no broad biochemical description of ageing exists for N. guentheri. In a cross-sectional design, we measured 27 clinical chemistry analytes in whole-body homogenates of male and female fish sampled at 3, 6 and 9 months of age (20 analytical samples). Age trends were assessed by Spearman rank correlation, and age, sex and their interaction by...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex neurodegenerative disorder characterized by amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau accumulation. Dysregulation of the brain renin-angiotensin system, particularly hyperactivation of the angiotensin II type-1 receptor, contributes to AD pathogenesis. In contrast, activation of the angiotensin II type-2 receptor (AT(2)R) has been linked to neuroprotection and reduced Aβ accumulation. However, the underlying mechanisms of AT(2)R-related Aβ reduction and the role of...

SIRT1, a sirtuin family member, has been extensively documented to be closely linked to aging and aging-related disease. Cellular senescence is a state of irreversible cell cycle arrest that functions as a key driver of aging. During cellular senescence, LINE-1 (L1) retrotransposable elements become transcriptionally activated and stimulate a type-I interferon (IFN-I) response. L1 activity has been strongly linked to aging and a variety of age-related disorders. However, whether SIRT1 influences...

Researchers have produced a form of Spirulina containing biologically active vitamin B12 at levels comparable to beef. By carefully controlling the light used to grow the algae, they overcame a major problem with conventional Spirulina, which mainly contains a form of B12 the human body cannot use. The carbon-neutral system could provide a more sustainable source of the essential vitamin.

CAR T-cell therapy dramatically reduced disease activity in six people with severe rheumatoid arthritis that had resisted other treatments, with three achieving medication-free remission. The treatment may work by clearing out harmful immune cells and effectively rebooting part of the immune system, although much larger studies are still needed.

A ketogenic diet outperformed Mediterranean and low-fat diets in several measures of metabolic health during a clinical trial involving people with obesity, prediabetes, and fatty liver disease. All three groups lost about 10% of their body weight, but keto reduced liver fat by 67%, compared with 45% for the other diets. About half of the keto group also no longer qualified as having prediabetes after four to five months.

Dogs and humans may have more in common when it comes to aging than scientists realized. Researchers with the Dog Aging Project found that patterns of small molecules in dogs’ blood were linked to longer or shorter lifespans in remarkably similar ways to those seen in people. These metabolic “fingerprints” could offer clues about the biological processes that drive aging, including metabolism, inflammation, and cellular stress.

People with chronic insomnia who used melatonin long term had a roughly 90% higher risk of developing heart failure over five years, according to a large preliminary study. The findings do not prove melatonin causes heart problems, but they raise new questions about the safety of taking the popular sleep supplement for extended periods.

Several dietary patterns have been associated with better health outcomes. However, the extent to which adherence to different so-called healthy diets overlaps, whether these dietary patterns are equally beneficial, and whether they are associated with similar DNA methylation profiles, remains unclear. Therefore, we investigate the overlap in adherence to ten diet quality scores, and examine the associations of these scores with both biological aging markers and DNA methylation profiles. We use...

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) dominate global mortality yet remain pervasive despite extensive prevention efforts, suggesting current explanatory frameworks may be incomplete. We propose the "Adaptive Cost Hypothesis": many NCDs represent not primarily lifestyle-mismatch diseases but rather inevitable trade-offs inherent in adaptive epigenetic programming optimized for reproductive success within ancestral human lifespans of 40-60 years. Early-life adversity calibrates immune, metabolic, and...

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) targeting the primary motor cortex (M1) has previously been shown to enhance motor learning in older adults. However, findings across studies are inconsistent, which may be partly due to variability in stimulation parameters and montages across experimental protocols. We aimed to replicate the effect of 1 mA conventional anodal tDCS over the M1 hotspot during one session of motor sequence learning on retention (24 h) compared to sham stimulation in...

CONCLUSION: In male rats, the SHR+BCAS+D-gal composite model recapitulates the multifactorial background, chronic progression, and multimodal neurological impairment of clinical CSVD at behavioral, neuroimaging, histopathological, and molecular levels. This male rat model may provide a useful experimental platform for mechanistic and interventional studies targeting BBB protection, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and white matter repair.

CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that CMDT enhances anticipatory control mechanisms linking brain function to behavior, supporting both emotional regulation and executive efficiency in frail older adults. By embedding cognitive demands within motor actions, this approach provides a low-cost and scalable intervention with increased ecological relevance, offering a promising strategy for addressing multidimensional vulnerability in aging.