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Immune cells flood into the aging brain, Stanford scientists discover

6 hours 59 minutes ago
Scientists have discovered that the aging human brain may be far less isolated from the rest of the body than once believed. Stanford researchers found that large numbers of immune cells from the blood begin entering the brain as early as middle age, where they can transform into microglia, the brain’s specialized immune cells. The finding overturns a long-standing assumption that these cells remain largely separate from the body’s immune system throughout life.

Taking the stairs could protect your heart and help you live longer

7 hours 52 minutes ago
Simply choosing the stairs could have surprisingly big benefits for your heart and longevity. A large analysis involving more than 480,000 people found that regular stair climbers were 39% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease and 24% less likely to die from any cause than people who rarely took the stairs. They also had lower risks of heart attack, stroke, and heart failure.

A stress hormone may help the brain repair itself

8 hours 52 minutes ago
A surprising stress-related signal may help the brain repair itself after injury. Researchers found that myelin-producing precursor cells rapidly release the stress hormone CRH near damaged brain tissue, helping control how those cells mature and rebuild protective nerve insulation. The same system also influences brain development and the thickness of myelin later in life. The findings could offer new clues about how early-life stress contributes to psychiatric disorders.

Women taking estrogen had fewer signs of Alzheimer’s in their brains

9 hours 8 minutes ago
Women who used estrogen-only hormone therapy later in life were less likely to develop dementia and showed fewer signs of Alzheimer’s disease in their brains, according to a large study of more than 21,000 participants. Hormone therapy use was linked to 39% lower odds of a dementia diagnosis and 35% lower odds of Alzheimer’s-related brain changes at autopsy, including amyloid plaques and tau tangles. Biomarker tests also suggested less amyloid buildup among hormone therapy users.

Dendritic translation and neuroproteasome-mediated degradation of endogenous tau revealed by STARFISH

10 hours 28 minutes ago
In Alzheimer's disease, the protein tau is thought to redistribute from axons to the somatodendritic compartment and form fibrillar aggregates. Although tau aggregation is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, the dynamics of its synthesis and degradation are not well characterized. Given that nascent polypeptides are particularly susceptible to misfolding, local control of tau synthesis and degradation may be essential to prevent aggregation. Here we develop STARFISH, a method for visualizing the...
Kalin D Konrad-Vicario

Lactiplantibacillus plantarum AS21 Attenuates Sex-Biased Glucose Intolerance in Aging Mice via Gut Mucosal Microbiota-Derived Citrulline

10 hours 28 minutes ago
Aging-related metabolic decline, particularly impaired glucose tolerance, represents a growing challenge in aging populations. Probiotics are promising modulators of host metabolism; however, how sex differences influence their efficacy in mitigating metabolic aging remains poorly understood. Here, we administered Lactiplantibacillus plantarum AS21 to naturally aged male and female mice for 6 months. We observed a pronounced sexual dimorphism in metabolic decline, with aged males exhibiting more...
Mengya Jia

How storey configuration and number of transition points shape opportunities for outdoor access in residential care facilities: implications for age-friendly environments

10 hours 28 minutes ago
CONCLUSIONS: Storey configuration and number of transition points constitute structural conditions that shape outdoor access in RCFs. These findings have implications for age-friendly design and planning of RCFs as well as for person-centred care and rehabilitation.
Madeleine Liljegren

An expanding role for ATG8s and ATG8 E3-like ligases in maintaining membrane integrity

10 hours 28 minutes ago
Endolysosomal membranes are frequently damaged by pathogenic stress associated with aging, infection, and neurodegeneration, and failure to repair such damage leads to inflammation and cell death. Recent advances identify membrane ATG8 conjugation (atg8ylation) as a key process that links damage detection to coordinated lysosomal repair, removal, and regeneration. Beyond its canonical role in macroautophagy, membrane atg8ylation also occurs on preexisting, non-autophagosomal single membranes...
Dale P Corkery

Comparison of Claims-Based Algorithms for Dementia Identification: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS)

10 hours 28 minutes ago
CONCLUSION: Commonly used claims-based algorithms to identify ADRD had reasonable validity, though each presented important context-dependent tradeoffs and none was uniformly superior. These findings highlight the importance of accurately diagnosing ADRD in clinical settings and of understanding each algorithm's strengths and limitations based on the use case. Limitations include that NHATS is not a "gold standard" for comparison of claims-based algorithms and we only analyzed NHATS respondents...
Ravi Gupta

This common vitamin deficiency becomes far more dangerous when paired with belly fat

17 hours 58 minutes ago
A large study of more than 5,500 adults over 50 found a striking combination of risk factors: abdominal obesity paired with vitamin D deficiency was linked to a 123% higher risk of death over six years. Each condition was associated with increased risk on its own, but together they appeared to create a dangerous feedback loop, with belly fat reducing the amount of vitamin D available in the bloodstream while low vitamin D may worsen inflammation and other health problems.

One faulty gene copy can make the heart’s DNA fold the wrong way

1 day 6 hours ago
Researchers have discovered that a gene linked to congenital heart disease acts like an architect for the heart cell’s DNA. Losing just one copy of TBX5 can cause the genome’s carefully folded 3D structure to unravel, disrupting the genes needed to build a healthy heart. The effects can vary from cell to cell, which may help explain why people with the same mutation develop different heart defects. The same hidden mechanism could also play a role in other birth defects.

Drinking orange juice every day may change thousands of genes

1 day 8 hours ago
Orange juice may have a much bigger effect on the body than scientists once realized. Drinking it regularly appears to influence genes tied to inflammation, blood pressure, metabolism, and blood sugar control, while studies have also found improvements in cholesterol and blood vessel health. Researchers suspect natural citrus compounds such as hesperidin may be partly responsible. Even the gut microbiome may benefit.

How to build an AI-driven digital organism

1 day 10 hours ago
Biology lies at the core of medicine, pharmacy, public health and longevity. However, in the physical world, biology is often too complex to manipulate and too expensive and risky to tamper with. In this Perspective, we put forward a vision of using AI to model and simulate biology and life. We present our vision on how to address this challenge through the construction of an AI-driven digital organism (AIDO)-a system of integrated multiscale foundation models-in a modular, connectable and...
Le Song