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Senotypes define the diverse landscape of senescent cells
Cellular senescence was initially defined in vitro as a stable cell-cycle arrest that occurs after repeated replication, but it is now recognized as a heterogeneous state shaped by cell type, species, senescence-inducing stress, tissue microenvironment and time. To organize this complexity, we propose the term 'senotype' to classify senescent cells by their inputs, molecular features and functional effects. We outline a practical framework incorporating: (1) cell identity and context; (2)...
Bioengineering strategies to interrogate and modulate the aging immune system
Age-related changes in the immune system result in pronounced vulnerability to acute infections and cancers, and in dysregulated inflammation and wound healing that fuel many chronic diseases. Although we understand much about some of these changes, gaps in mechanistic knowledge remain, in part hindered by a lack of well-validated in vitro models of immune aging. We propose that multidisciplinary approaches, nucleated at the interface of immunology, gerontology and engineering, have the...
Statin therapy optimization in older adults: interim results of a randomized controlled trial of pharmacist-led pharmaceutical care
Statin optimization in older adults is increasingly relevant within the geroscience framework of cardiovascular ageing. This randomized controlled trial evaluated whether pharmacist-led pharmaceutical care improves lipid outcomes and statin adherence in community-dwelling older adults receiving primary care. A total of 99 patients aged 65 years or older on long-term statin therapy were randomized to usual care or structured pharmacist-led care delivered every 3 months. The primary outcome was...
Epigenetic aging biomarkers in dietary geroscience: feasibility, participant perceptions, and trial design considerations
Targeting biological processes of aging is a central goal of geroscience; however, limited data exist regarding the feasibility of incorporating biological aging biomarkers into dietary intervention trials. We conducted a pilot feasibility study among 34 adults aged 48-81 years with metabolic syndrome, a condition associated with elevated risk of age-related cardiometabolic disease and advanced biological aging. Participants consumed 1 oz of tree nuts and two tablespoons of extra virgin olive...
Shared striatal neurons exhibit context-specific dynamics for internally and externally driven actions
Animals can initiate movements either in response to external cues or from internal drive, yet how the brain flexibly supports both remains unclear. Disorders such as Parkinson's disease disrupt these modes differently, suggesting distinct underlying mechanisms. These differences could arise from specialized circuits or from shared neuronal populations that shift their dynamics across contexts. To distinguish between these possibilities, we performed two-photon calcium imaging in the...
Multivariate associations between systemic inflammation, metabolic dysregulation, and cognitive performance in project FRONTIER
CONCLUSION: Systemic inflammation and metabolic dysregulation were associated with poorer cognitive performance, particularly executive dysfunction, in this rural aging cohort. These findings, while modest in effect size, support the importance of cardiometabolic health in cognitive aging, motivating future longitudinal and mechanistic studies.
Molecular mechanisms of perimenopausal cognitive impairment in a rat model: multi-omics integration reveals the Adgrl2-Camk2d-TRPV1 signaling axis mediating calcium homeostasis disruption and neuroinflammation
CONCLUSION: The Adgrl2-Camk2d-TRPV1 signaling axis is a core driver pathway of perimenopausal cognitive impairment, exacerbating neuronal damage by mediating calcium overload, neuroinflammation, and metabolic disorders. This discovery provides a novel pathological mechanism for perimenopausal cognitive impairment, identifies Adgrl2 and TRPV1 as potential therapeutic targets, and designates Ca^(2+) as an ideal diagnostic biomarker, offering significant support for clinical diagnosis, treatment,...
Progerin Hinders Autophagy Flux at Its Final Stages in Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome Cells, Preventing Its Own Autophagic Degradation
In Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS), dysfunctional autophagy results in the accumulation of progerin, a lamin A mutant variant that alters a plethora of processes, inducing senescence and driving premature aging. Therefore, the elimination of progerin through autophagy restoration emerges as a therapeutic intervention against HGPS. However, a comprehensive study of autophagy flux in HGPS remains to be addressed. In this study, the dynamics of autophagy in HGPS fibroblasts were...
Sensory impairment, epigenetic ageing, and later-life functional decline and mortality in older adults
Sensory impairment (SI) and accelerated epigenetic aging are both linked to later-life vulnerability, yet their joint value for risk stratification remains poorly understood. We investigated whether the co-occurrence of sensory deficits and accelerated epigenetic aging identifies older adults at heightened risk of functional decline and mortality. We analyzed data from 2,395 participants in the 2016 wave of the Health and Retirement Study with valid DNA methylation (DNAm) and sensory data....
Age-related differences in liver damage and inflammation after femoral osteotomy
Fractures of long bones such as the femur are a common and serious health concern in the elderly, triggering immune responses essential for healing but also affecting remote organs like the liver. With age, the risk of fractures and immune imbalance increases, raising the likelihood of organ damage, infections, and mortality. To better understand age-dependent hepatic responses to bone injury, this study investigates early immune responses in the liver following femoral osteotomy, used here as a...
Biological Versus Technical Reliability of Epigenetic Clocks and Implications for Disease Prognosis and Intervention Response
Epigenetic clocks are widely used to estimate biological age and predict health outcomes, but their translational value depends not only on accuracy but also on reliability. Using the TranslAGE platform, we evaluated both technical and biological reliability across 18 DNA methylation-based aging biomarkers, including chronological, mortality, and pace-of-aging clocks. Most clocks demonstrated excellent technical reproducibility across replicate assays on EPIC and 450 K arrays. However, several...
Cryoelectron tomography reveals an age-related decline in mitoribosomes that contributes to T cell dysfunction in older individuals
Mitochondrial dysfunction drives T cell aging in mice. Yet, due to fundamental differences in T cell aging mechanisms between species, whether human T cells exhibit similar mitochondrial alterations remains unclear, with existing evidence often conflicting. Using cryoelectron tomography, we resolved the structure and spatial organization of mitochondrial ribosomes in primary human CD8^(+) T cells under physiological conditions. Comparative analysis with human aging models revealed an age-related...
Regulating the microporous structure by cavity-shaped molecular sieving channels
Membrane separation technology represents a promising and effective alternative to traditional energy-intensive gas separation technologies. However, most commercial membranes have low permeability and moderate selectivity, which limits their ability to meet the stringent gas purity requirements for hydrogen purification and natural gas upgrading. In this study, Matrimid, a widely used commercial polymer, was selected as the matrix material. Cucurbituril (CB) with selective cavity was...
Noncoplanar multidentate contacts reinforce buried interface for perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells
The buried interface between the self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) and the perovskite plays a critical role in device performance and stability in inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, severe desorption and agglomeration of self-assembled molecules lead to interfacial losses and shorten device longevity. Herein, we design a molecule, 5,5',5″-(nitrilotri-4,1-phenylene)tris[2-thiophenecarboxylic acid] (TTA) with a noncoplanar molecular configuration and multiple functional groups. The...
Lipidomic profiling reveals age-dependent changes in plasma membrane lipids that affect neural stem cell aging
The aging brain exhibits a decline in the regenerative populations of neural stem cells (NSCs). While mechanisms that restore old NSC function have started to be identified, the role of lipids-especially complex lipids-in NSC aging remains largely unclear. Using lipidomic profiling by mass spectrometry, we identify age-related changes in complex lipids in quiescent NSCs in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, several polyunsaturated fatty acids increase across lipid classes in quiescent NSCs during...
What if the brain does not create consciousness?
Christof Koch is taking on one of science’s deepest mysteries: how the brain creates conscious experience, or whether it creates it at all. He argues that materialism has yet to solve this “hard problem” and will explore puzzling phenomena such as near-death experiences and terminal lucidity. His work points toward the possibility that consciousness may be woven into reality itself.