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Researchers are developing a futuristic alternative to LASIK that reshapes the eye without lasers or incisions. Using mild electrical pulses and platinum contact lenses, they temporarily soften the cornea so it can be molded into a new shape. Early tests on rabbit eyes successfully corrected nearsightedness in about a minute while preserving the eye’s structure.

For more than a century, pianists and music teachers have argued over whether a performer’s touch can actually change the tone color of a piano note — and now scientists say the answer is yes. Using a cutting-edge sensor system that tracked piano key movements at 1,000 frames per second, researchers discovered that elite pianists subtly manipulate keys in ways that listeners can genuinely hear, even if they’ve never played piano before.

Tauopathies are neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the accumulation of misfolded tau protein and include Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementia disorders. Identifying new strategies to treat tauopathy remains an important gap in the field. Using forward and reverse genetic approaches in C. elegans, we identified smrd-1, the C. elegans homolog of SMARCAD1, as a potent modifier of tauopathy phenotypes in a transgenic model of tauopathy. Loss of smrd-1 function rescues...

CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest a significant association between a reduced number of functional teeth and low HGS in older adults. While these results highlight the potential relevance of oral health to physical capacity, further longitudinal studies are required to clarify the temporal relationship and to determine whether preserving functional dentition may be associated with better physical function and a lower risk of subsequent functional decline.

CONCLUSIONS: This study uncovers the multi-layered genetic and molecular architecture underlying ovarian aging. The identified molecular traits provide promising candidates for functional studies and suggest new avenues for developing therapies aimed at preserving ovarian function and preventing age-related decline.

A newly identified protein called GPNMB may play a major role in helping Parkinson’s disease spread through the brain. Researchers discovered that immune cells release the protein in response to damaged neurons, creating a vicious cycle that speeds up brain cell degeneration. In early experiments, antibodies that blocked GPNMB stopped the toxic process from spreading between cells.

A new brain imaging study has found no evidence of widespread brain inflammation in patients suffering from prolonged symptoms after COVID-19 infection. Instead, the most severe long COVID symptoms were associated with increased brain activity in regions involved in mood and emotion.

A surprising new approach to depression treatment is showing early promise — not by targeting brain chemicals, but by calming the immune system. In a small clinical trial, researchers found that an anti-inflammatory drug normally used for rheumatoid arthritis appeared to ease symptoms in people with hard-to-treat depression, while also reducing fatigue and anxiety and improving quality of life.

When the body runs low on protein, the gut sends powerful signals to the brain that reshape cravings and push animals to seek essential amino acids instead of sugar. Researchers say this newly discovered gut-brain network could transform our understanding of appetite, nutrition, and obesity.

GSK’s “bepi” performs better than expected in efficacy trials, but its global impact is likely limited

Scientists at UC San Diego have unveiled a potentially game-changing treatment for MASH, a severe fatty liver disease affecting millions worldwide. The experimental drug, ION224, blocks a liver enzyme that drives fat buildup and inflammation, two key forces behind liver damage. In clinical trials, patients showed striking improvements in liver health, even without losing weight.

Seismic imaging and drilling cruises bolster a controversial explanation for ancient surges in warming

Critics say bill would weaken U.S. science by cutting flows of ideas and talent

A drug combo widely explored for anti-aging may actually damage the brain, according to new mouse research showing severe loss of myelin and changes linked to “chemo brain.” Surprisingly, the damaged cells resembled those seen in multiple sclerosis, giving scientists a new lead in understanding—and potentially repairing—the disease.

A new experimental treatment could finally offer hope for millions of people with dry age-related macular degeneration — one of the leading causes of blindness in older adults. Researchers at Aalto University discovered a way to gently heat tissue at the back of the eye using near-infrared light, triggering the cells’ natural “cleanup and repair” systems before major damage occurs.

N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors (NMDARs) are key mediators of calcium ion (Ca^(2+)) influx required for proper neuronal function. Excessive NMDAR-mediated Ca^(2+) influx is neurotoxic and associated with neurological disease. Memantine and ketamine, two NMDAR antagonists with overlapping binding sites in the NMDAR channel, are of high clinical interest. Whereas memantine is a well-tolerated Alzheimer's disease medication, ketamine is a fast-acting antidepressant with abuse potential and...

Synucleinopathies are neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the presence of brain inclusions containing the pathologically aggregated protein α-synuclein. The development of a positron emission tomography tracer to detect aggregates of misfolded α-synuclein could revolutionize early diagnosis, disease monitoring, and the evaluation of therapeutic efficacy. Here, we present the development, preclinical validation, and first-in-human evaluation of [^(11)C]MODAG-005. In vitro binding...

Normative models of brain metrics based on large populations could be extremely valuable for detecting brain abnormalities in patients with a variety of disorders, including degenerative, psychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions, but no such models exist for the brain's white matter (WM) microstructure. Here we present a large-scale normative model of brain WM microstructure - based on 19 international diffusion MRI datasets covering almost the entire lifespan (totaling N = 54,583...