Aging & Longevity

Multimorbidity is projected to continue increasing in England and many other countries. Here, we use a validated microsimulation model to quantify the potential impact of improving exposure levels of eight risk factors on the burden of major illness among adults aged 30+ in England between 2023-2043. We find that the biggest contributors to incident major illness are body mass index, smoking, systolic blood pressure, and physical inactivity. Theoretical minimum risk exposure levels of all risk...

Symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF) in legume-rhizobia represents a sustainable and eco-friendly alternative to chemical nitrogen fertilizers in agriculture. Identifying key factors involved in nodule senescence, is crucial for enhancing SNF by effectively extending the lifespan of nodules. Here, we reveal that sulfur (S), an essential element for SNF, plays a major regulatory role in the senescence of soybean (Glycine max) nodules. Blocking S input into the symbiosome by knocking out either S...

Chromosome mis-segregation during meiosis in oocytes causes miscarriages and congenital diseases. Ageing-associated premature chromosome separation is a major cause of mis-segregation. Effective prevention of premature chromosome separation has not yet been achieved. Here we design protein-based artificial kinetochores that act as decoys to prevent premature chromosome separation. Designed artificial kinetochore-like decoys are submicroscale clusters of NDC80-NUF2-tethered protein particles that...

Across species, a major axis of variation in social behaviour relates to how offspring are reared. Parental care behaviours have independently evolved in hundreds of animal lineages. Care is usually limited to one or both parents, but in some lineages parenting is a highly cooperative endeavour. In social insects, for example, entire societies have evolved around parenting, complete with distinct adult morphs that specialize in reproduction, nursing, foraging and defence. Recent advances in omic...

Aging is associated with increased breast cancer risk, and the oldest and youngest patients have worse outcomes, irrespective of subtype. It is unknown how age affects cells in the breast tumor microenvironment or how they contribute to age-related pathology. Here we discover age-associated differences in cell states in human estrogen receptor-positive and triple-negative breast cancers using analyses of existing bulk and single-cell transcriptomic data. We generate and apply an Age-Specific...

Most cancers are diagnosed in people over 60 years of age, but little is known about how age impacts tumorigenesis. While aging is accompanied by mutation accumulation (widely understood to contribute to cancer risk) it is associated with numerous other cellular and molecular changes likely to impact tumorigenesis. Moreover, cancer incidence decreases in the oldest part of the population, suggesting that very old age may reduce carcinogenesis. Here we show that aging represses oncogenic...

Aging biomarkers are essential tools for quantifying biological aging, but systematic validation has been hindered by methodological inconsistencies and fragmented datasets. Here we show that the ability of traditional aging clocks to predict chronological age does not correlate with mortality prediction capacity (R = 0.12, P = 0.67), suggesting that these metrics capture distinct biological processes. We developed Biolearn, an open-source framework enabling standardized evaluation of 39...

The Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) presents an updated 2025 consensus reframing sarcopenia management through a life-course approach to muscle health promotion. While aligning with the Global Leadership Initiative in Sarcopenia (GLIS), this update provides healthcare providers with Asia-specific guidance. The consensus introduces three key refinements: first, expanding sarcopenia diagnosis to middle-aged adults (50‒64 years) with validated diagnostic thresholds; second, simplifying...

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Neurodegenerative disorders alter mitochondrial functions, including the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Mitochondrial complex III (CIII) generates ROS implicated in redox signalling, but its triggers, temporal dynamics, targets and disease relevance are not clear. Here, using site-selective suppressors and genetic manipulations together with live mitochondrial ROS imaging and multiomic profiling, we show that CIII is a dominant source of ROS production in astrocytes exposed to...

CONCLUSION: Against our hypothesis, the present pilot study indicated that neither a 12-week MMI nor UMI seems to have a sizable impact on gait parameters and cognitive performance in physically active healthy adults. Still, a significant increase in the external load used during resistance training was observed, implying neuromuscular adaptations, which, however, did not translate into a higher gait and/or cognitive performance.

CONCLUSION: This study observed distinct trajectories of care expenditure among older people at the end-of-life and multiple factors contributed to these patterns. Most followed a trajectory where both where health and social expenditure remained high and persons relied on care in their own homes. These findings provide insight into the care resources used during the last year of life and may serve to inform future policies on care planning in the context of an ageing population.

Aging is a predominant risk factor for heart disease. Aging heart reveals low-grade chronic inflammation, cell apoptosis, cardiac fibrosis, and increased vulnerability to ischemic injury. The underlying molecular mechanisms responsible for cardiac aging and its susceptibility to injury are not fully understood. Although literature reports a role for mitochondrial Arginase 2 (ARG2) in heart failure, contradictory results are reported. How ARG2 participates in cardiac aging is still unknown. In...

Non-lethal exposure to mitochondrial stress has been shown to have beneficial effects due to activation of signaling pathways, including the mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPR^(mt)). Activation of UPR^(mt) restores the function of the mitochondria and improves general health and longevity in multiple model systems, termed mitohormesis. In C. elegans, mitohormesis can be accomplished by electron transport chain inhibition, a decline in mitochondrial translation, decreased mitochondrial...

Ageing is a complex biological process driven, in part, by inflammaging. Recent research identifies the ectodysplasin A2 receptor (EDA2R) as a key regulator of inflammaging and a novel biomarker of ageing, with its expression increasing with age across diverse tissues in humans and animal models. Elevated EDA2R gene expression is associated with accelerated ageing, cellular senescence, frailty, obesity, acne, radiation response and increased levels of inflammatory, renal, cardiac and vascular...

CONCLUSION: HLS induced segment-specific changes in the aged intestine, with atrophic and inflammatory alterations in the ileum and increased markers of inflammation and oxidative stress in the colon. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to preserve gastrointestinal health in immobilized elderly patients.

Reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) metabolism is independently regulated in different compartments in endothelial cells (EC). The metabolic profile and functional impact of NADPH during EC senescence remain largely unknown. Using a genetically encoded fluorescent indicator, we find that cytosolic, but not mitochondrial, NADPH level increases during EC senescence. Upregulation of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) further elevates cytosolic NADPH level during EC...

Biomass-derived recyclable materials that can replace petrochemical-derived plastics are highly sought for a sustainable future. However, incumbent materials often face performance deterioration challenges owing to the aging issues after use in the environment. Here, we present a self-reinforcing, recyclable, unprecedented polyester material derived entirely from biomass lignin and soybeans, mimicking the self-reinforcement mechanism of biological systems. Our material leverages a [2 +...

Prevention of Alzheimer disease (AD) is a medical challenge owing to its complex pathogenesis, which involves amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau aggregation, neuroinflammation and progressive neurodegeneration. Development of disease-specific biomarkers has transformed our ability to detect AD pathology early, enabling more accurate diagnosis, monitoring and the development of targeted disease-modifying therapies. Consequently, primary and secondary prevention of AD have become feasible goals. In this...

Female reproductive aging is accompanied by a sharp increase in egg aneuploidy rates. Premature loss of chromosome cohesion proteins and early separation of chromosomes are thought to cause high aneuploidy rates during maternal aging. However, because cohesion loss occurs gradually throughout a woman's reproductive lifespan, and because cytoskeletal defects alone can lead to chromosomal abnormalities, the main causes of the rapid rise in aneuploidy at older reproductive ages are still unclear....