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Could giant underwater curtains slow ice-sheet melting?
Uprooted Ukrainian scientists may never return from their new research homes
As war drags on, officials ponder how to coax academics back to regions the country hopes to recapture
New undersea robot digitally captures the sea’s most delicate life
Combining advanced imaging, sequencing, and collecting technologies paves the way for better species descriptions
Dogged by climate change and human hunters, a mammoth’s life is written in her tusks
Elma’s travels offer rare glimpse into the challenges that drove her species to extinction
A promising snakebite treatment seemed ready for prime time. Then, it backfired
Researchers publish first-ever report of antibody-dependent enhancement of snake venom toxin as a warning to others developing new treatments
Risk of COVID-19 death in adults who received booster COVID-19 vaccinations in England
The emergence of the COVID-19 vaccination has been critical in changing the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure protection remains high in vulnerable groups booster vaccinations in the UK have been targeted based on age and clinical vulnerabilities. We undertook a national retrospective cohort study using data from the 2021 Census linked to electronic health records. We fitted cause-specific Cox models to examine the association between health conditions and the risk of COVID-19 death and...
NAD<sup>+</sup> dependent UPR<sup>mt</sup> activation underlies intestinal aging caused by mitochondrial DNA mutations
Aging in mammals is accompanied by an imbalance of intestinal homeostasis and accumulation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations. However, little is known about how accumulated mtDNA mutations modulate intestinal homeostasis. We observe the accumulation of mtDNA mutations in the small intestine of aged male mice, suggesting an association with physiological intestinal aging. Using polymerase gamma (POLG) mutator mice and wild-type mice, we generate male mice with progressive mtDNA mutation...
How solute atoms control aqueous corrosion of Al-alloys
Aluminum alloys play an important role in circular metallurgy due to their good recyclability and 95% energy gain when made from scrap. Their low density and high strength translate linearly to lower greenhouse gas emissions in transportation, and their excellent corrosion resistance enhances product longevity. The durability of Al alloys stems from the dense barrier oxide film strongly bonded to the surface, preventing further degradation. However, despite decades of research, the individual...
Meta-analysis shows no consistent evidence for senescence in ejaculate traits across animals
Male reproductive traits such as ejaculate size and quality, are expected to decline with advancing age due to senescence. It is however unclear whether this expectation is upheld across taxa. We perform a meta-analysis on 379 studies, to quantify the effects of advancing male age on ejaculate traits across 157 species of non-human animals. Contrary to predictions, we find no consistent pattern of age-dependent changes in ejaculate traits. This result partly reflects methodological limitations,...
Exergame and cognitive training for preventing falls in community-dwelling older people: a randomized controlled trial
Exergame training, in which video games are used to promote exercise, can be tailored to address cognitive and physical risk factors for falls and is a promising method for fall prevention in older people. Here, we performed a randomized clinical trial using the smart±step gaming system to examine the effectiveness of two home-based computer game interventions, seated cognitive training and step exergame training, for fall prevention in community-dwelling older people, as compared with a...
Implications of stress-induced gene expression for hematopoietic stem cell aging studies
A decline in hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) function is believed to underlie hematological shortcomings with age; however, a comprehensive molecular understanding of these changes is currently lacking. Here we provide evidence that a transcriptional signature reported in several previous studies on HSC aging is linked to stress-induced changes in gene expression rather than aging. Our findings have strong implications for the design and interpretation of HSC aging studies.
Adipose-tissue regulatory T cells are a consortium of subtypes that evolves with age and diet
Foxp3^(+)CD4^(+) regulatory T (Treg) cells found within tissues regulate local immunity, inflammation, and homeostasis. Tregs in epididymal visceral adipose tissue (eVAT) are critical regulators of local and systemic inflammation and metabolism. During aging and under obesogenic conditions, eVAT Tregs undergo transcriptional and phenotypic changes and are important for containing inflammation and normalizing metabolic indices. We have employed single-cell RNA sequencing, single-cell Tra and Trb...
The V-ATPase-ATG16L1 axis recruits LRRK2 to facilitate the lysosomal stress response
Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2), a Rab kinase associated with Parkinson's disease and several inflammatory diseases, has been shown to localize to stressed lysosomes and get activated to regulate lysosomal homeostasis. However, the mechanisms of LRRK2 recruitment and activation have not been well understood. Here, we found that the ATG8 conjugation system regulates the recruitment of LRRK2 as well as LC3 onto single membranes of stressed lysosomes/phagosomes. This recruitment did not...
Correlates of life course physical activity in participants of the Baltimore longitudinal study of aging
Physical activity is consistently associated with better health and longer life spans. However, the extent to which length and intensity of exercise across the life course impact health outcomes relative to current activity is undefined. Participants of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging were asked to categorize their level of physical activity in each decade of life from adolescence to the current decade. In linear mixed effects models, self-reported past levels of physical activity were...
Senolytic treatment alleviates doxorubicin-induced chemobrain
Doxorubicin (Dox), a widely used treatment for cancer, can result in chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairments (chemobrain). Chemobrain is associated with inflammation and oxidative stress similar to aging. As such, Dox treatment has also been used as a model of aging. However, it is unclear if Dox induces brain changes similar to that observed during aging since Dox does not readily enter the brain. Rather, the mechanism for chemobrain likely involves the induction of peripheral cellular...