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Scientists have discovered why some people with a high genetic risk of Alzheimer’s remain mentally sharp into their 80s, uncovering a rare mutation that protects the brain from harmful protein buildup. The findings reveal a potential new way to prevent early brain damage and could pave the way for treatments that mimic this natural defense.

Scientists have uncovered a possible explanation for why some people struggle to taste food more than a year after recovering from COVID-19. By examining taste buds from patients with lingering symptoms, researchers discovered molecular abnormalities that weaken the signals responsible for detecting sweet, bitter, and savory flavors.

Walking just 3,000 steps a day could help slow Alzheimer’s-related brain changes, according to new research. Scientists discovered that physical activity was linked to less buildup of harmful tau proteins and nearly half the cognitive and functional decline, even in people already showing early signs of the disease. The strongest benefits appeared at 5,000 to 7,500 daily steps, suggesting that the popular 10,000-step goal may not be necessary.

Experts worry the proposed research could produce biased results

A discovery in tiny algae led to a Nobel Prize-winning breakthrough that allows scientists to switch brain cells on and off using light. The revolutionary technique has already helped researchers activate memories and is opening new possibilities for restoring vision and treating brain disorders.

Maternal age is the primary risk factor for aneuploidy in mammalian oocytes, but the molecular mechanisms that preserve meiotic chromosome segregation fidelity during aging remain incompletely understood. Using ultrastructural analysis, we observe that spindle microtubules in aged mouse oocytes tend to exhibit increased misorientation and shorter interaction lengths, whereas microtubule number and density remain largely unchanged. We demonstrate that the levels of the key centromeric components...

Scientists have uncovered an unexpected culprit behind sleep loss in Alzheimer’s disease: overactive immune cells in the brain. By temporarily removing these cells, researchers restored more than two hours of sleep per day in mice, revealing a promising new target for treatment.

A common liver disease affecting nearly 30% of adults worldwide may be far more complicated than scientists previously realized. Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered that fatty liver disease actually consists of five distinct biological subtypes, each carrying different risks for liver failure, cancer, heart disease, and other serious complications.

Researchers have identified striking parallels between Sigmund Freud’s century-old theories and modern neuroscience, suggesting that the brain’s constant predictions shape how we experience reality. The findings could help explain why harmful thought patterns are so difficult to break and offer new insights into treating mental disorders.

Eating too much salt may do more than raise blood pressure. It could also harm memory and social behavior. In a new study, Japanese researchers discovered that a soy-derived compound called LPC70 helped protect mice from several damaging effects of a high-salt diet. Mice given the supplement had lower blood pressure, better memory, and improved social interactions compared with mice consuming excess salt alone.

Eating blueberries every day could have surprising effects on mood, according to a small study that found greater reductions in depressive symptoms among older adults who consumed the fruit for three months. Researchers also detected changes in gut microbial enzymes, suggesting a possible gut-brain connection, although the mood benefits were not statistically significant compared with a placebo.

A study of nearly 90,000 adults found that people consuming the most of a little-known sugar found in red meat had a 63% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Scientists suspect the sugar may trigger chronic inflammation, potentially revealing a hidden connection between red meat and diabetes that goes beyond weight gain.

A psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms appears to have an unexpected effect: calming highly aggressive fish. Researchers discovered that low doses of psilocybin significantly reduced aggressive attacks in mangrove rivulus fish without disrupting their normal social interactions. The findings suggest psilocybin may selectively calm escalating aggression rather than simply suppressing all behavior.

Researchers have uncovered three brain pathways linked to lasting improvements in people receiving deep brain stimulation for severe, treatment-resistant depression. They also discovered that patients who failed to improve after two years shared a striking pattern: insufficient stimulation of a crucial brain connection. The findings suggest that millimeters in electrode placement could make a major difference in treatment outcomes.

Scientists have uncovered a surprising difference in how male and female skin repairs and renews itself. By tracking individual skin stem cells in living mice for five months, researchers discovered that female cells work together in a highly coordinated way, while male cells operate more independently. This synchronization, driven by sex hormones, helps explain why wounds heal faster in female mice, especially during the first few days.

Despite the central role of myelination in brain function and plasticity, its characterization remains fragmented, with existing studies typically constrained either spatially, by focusing on selected brain structures, or temporally, by covering only limited age ranges. Here, we provide a comprehensive brain-wide map of myelination across the lifespan, leveraging T1w/T2w ratios from 214 brain regions in individuals aged 0-100 years. This fine-grained spatiotemporal mapping reveals regional...

Maintaining health during global population aging represents a critical challenge, where mosaic loss of chromosome Y (LOY) in the hematopoietic system surfaces as a prevalent somatic mutation in aging men. However, its longitudinal impact on sensory organ degeneration remains insufficiently characterized. Analyzing 223,051 male participants from the UK Biobank, we demonstrated that LOY uniquely and independently predicted an increased risk of incident age-related macular degeneration (AMD)...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by progressive cognitive decline and prominent disturbances in sleep and wakefulness, reflecting dysfunction across distributed neural networks. The zona incerta (ZI) is a highly heterogeneous subthalamic structure whose organization is defined by spatial location, molecular identity, neurochemical phenotype, and circuit connectivity. Recent studies demonstrate that distinct ZI cell populations and projections contribute to memory processing, novelty...

Time-to-event models are central to aging research, quantifying both whether and when an event occurs. However, guidance on selecting among traditional statistical and machine learning (ML) methods for prediction modeling remains limited, particularly for epidemiologic aging cohorts with wide assessment intervals. Mobility limitation, as a clinically important aging outcome with such complexities, provides a relevant test case for methodological benchmarking. We conducted a systematic benchmark...