Summary: Using an age-stratified allele frequency approach across adults aged 24 to 70, researchers tracked how genetic variants change in frequency across age brackets and identified 168 variants under active natural selection. Of these, 159 show evidence of purifying selection. Nearly 90% of the detected variants are extremely rare, including 71 listed as pathogenic in … Read more

Summary: A new long-term analysis of spotted hyenas reveals that reproductive inequality becomes female-biased when measured across multiple generations. Short-term measures, such as annual offspring counts, follow the classic Darwin–Bateman pattern with greater variation among males. However, pedigree analysis across generations shows that high-ranking females and their matrilines accumulate disproportionately more descendants. Within six generations, … Read more

Summary: A new study shows that lipoic acid trisulfide (LASSS) prevents age-related chemical modification of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and can convert it into a more potent form. In aged tissue, HGF is nitrated on tyrosine residues Y198 and Y250, preventing it from binding the c‑met receptor on muscle satellite cells and impairing muscle repair. … Read more

Summary: A new Cambridge study finds that drugs targeting the glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor (GIPR) act through two anatomically distinct brain regions. Activating GIPR in the brainstem directly suppresses appetite, while blocking GIPR in the hypothalamus removes an inhibitory “brake” that limits the brainstem’s sensitivity to satiety signals. By releasing this hypothalamic brake, GIPR antagonists … Read more

Summary: Using the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiToP) framework, researchers analyzed self-reported motor symptoms alongside psychological dimensions in nearly 3,500 people without prior formal psychiatric diagnoses. The study compared motor measures—such as dyskinesia, coordination difficulties, developmental motor delays, and levels of physical activity—with psychological domains including distress, fear, dissociation, mania, psychosis-like experiences, and substance use. … Read more

Summary: A new study from the Salk Institute shows that senescent, or “zombie,” cells produce elevated amounts of the enzyme acid ceramidase. This increase reshapes lipid metabolism and makes senescent cells much more vulnerable to ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of cell death driven by lipid peroxidation. The researchers also found that senescent cells can transmit … Read more

Summary: Researchers have developed a two-photon imaging platform called FlatMux that records electrical voltage signals from nearly 200 neurons simultaneously in living brain tissue, with millisecond precision and at depths up to 500 micrometers. FlatMux rethinks optical light delivery to address the competing challenges of laser power, tissue heating, and detection sensitivity. Using an engineered … Read more

Summary: Researchers have found that the three-dimensional folding of the genome is substantially altered in specific brain cells of people with Alzheimer’s disease, revealing a new layer of molecular pathology linked to disrupted gene regulation and tissue organization in the prefrontal cortex. The study combines single-cell GAGE-seq multiomics, spatial tissue mapping, and a transformer-based deep … Read more

Summary: A new single-cell multiomic study finds that the human brain undergoes coordinated shifts in gene regulation and three-dimensional genome architecture beginning in midlife. By profiling individual cells across the adult lifespan in the hippocampus—a region essential for learning and memory—researchers mapped structural genome breakdown and system-level remodeling that help explain why aging is the … Read more

Summary: New UCLA-led research shows that blocking an overactive mTOR signaling pathway quickly calms hyperexcitable neurons, restores disordered functional brain networks, and reduces repetitive and sensory-overresponsive behaviors in adult mice exposed to prenatal inflammation. Effects appeared within roughly two hours, a timeframe too brief to reflect structural repair, indicating that adult brains retain substantial functional … Read more