Aggregator

Aging is associated with impairments in cognitive flexibility, a key executive function supported by the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), yet the biological mechanisms underlying individual variability in age-related decline remain poorly understood. Here we investigated behavioral, ultrastructural, and proteomic correlates of cognitive inflexibility in mice across aging. Using a touchscreen-based attentional set-shifting task, we observed substantial individual variability in cognitive...

Scientists found that the 3D organization of DNA is disrupted in several types of brain cells affected by Alzheimer’s disease, altering how important genes are switched on and off. The discovery reveals a previously underexplored layer of the disease that could open new paths for understanding and eventually treating Alzheimer’s.

Most men may be missing an important dietary clue about prostate cancer. A new survey found that only 20% knew research has linked dairy consumption with increased prostate cancer risk, while 66% said they would consider avoiding dairy after learning about the connection. Studies have also associated plant-based diets with substantially lower risks of prostate cancer, progression, and recurrence.

AI analysis of 400,000 Reddit posts found that users of drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound reported unexpected symptoms including menstrual changes, chills, hot flashes, and fatigue. Researchers cannot say the medications caused these problems, but the patterns may reveal overlooked signals worth studying.

Anthropic describes five cases where scientists in unnamed countries tried to use its Claude software for potentially nefarious work on viruses or toxins

Phosphorylation-targeting chimeras (PhosTACs) enable targeted protein dephosphorylation by recruiting phosphatases through induced proximity. However, the direct recruitment of phosphatase subunits or holoenzymes with small molecules remains challenging, as suitable ligands are scarce and often compromise enzymatic activity or cellular function. Here, we present togoPhosTAC, a hybrid modality that integrates a small-molecule PhosTAC, an engineered FKBP12^(F36V)-phosphatase, and a lipid...

A natural compound found in foods such as spinach, almonds, and sweet potatoes may aggravate gut inflammation in people with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis because their intestines appear to handle it differently. Researchers say the finding could open the door to lower-oxalate diets or microbiome treatments tailored specifically to people with IBD.

GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepbound may increase hair-loss risk by 7% in men who are already genetically susceptible to male-pattern baldness. The findings suggest thinning hair may not be caused only by rapid weight loss and could also reflect a biological link between GLP-1 activity and hair follicles.

Scientists have uncovered a natural braking system that helps the immune system switch off inflammation and prevent harmful immune cells from building up. Boosting this pathway in people reduced inflammation-related immune changes and sped up pain relief, pointing toward potential new treatments for chronic inflammatory diseases.

A 10-year study of more than 6,000 adults found that popular coronary calcium scans may add little to standard heart disease risk estimates for many people. But for patients with borderline or intermediate risk, the scans could make a meaningful difference by revealing who is actually more likely to develop heart disease.

Semaglutide helped older healthy mice live longer while improving memory, muscle function, blood sugar control, and several biological signs of aging. Its effects went beyond those seen with calorie restriction, raising the possibility that GLP-1 drugs could tap into a separate biological pathway linked to longevity.

CONCLUSION: This study developed an explainable ML-based prediction model for functional disability trajectories in older patients with CLBP and preliminarily explored a trajectory-based risk stratification pathway. The findings provide an interpretable, data-driven approach for estimating trajectory-specific risk within this dataset and may help inform future research on early risk identification. Further external validation, recalibration, and impact analyses are required before clinical...

Memory markedly declines with age, exaggerated in those with Alzheimer's disease, yet the mechanisms are still not resolved. Here we show that frontal lobe tau pathology in humans is associated with impaired en masse unity and cortical traveling propagation of nonrapid eye movement slow waves, linked to impaired memory retention. We elucidate these findings using positron-emission tomography tau brain imaging, and then replicate and extend them using Alzheimer's disease pathology markers derived...