Some viral infections are associated with an increased risk of neurodegenerative disease — Alzheimer’s ABC What causes Alzheimer’s disease? It’s a question without an easy answer, unfortunately. We know about the plaques and tangles, about issues with the blood-brain barrier, changes in glucose metabolism, damaged microglia, unusual serotonin signaling, and so on. When we get out of the brain, we know there are various genetic…

Probing the horizon of ever more accurate and safe gene editing — The past Today, when you see the term CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats), it usually refers to a revolutionary technology that allows scientists to make precise changes to the DNA of living organisms. CRISPR’s biological roots, however, are far, far older. Originally, CRISPR is an ancient natural defense mechanism found…

Age-related DNA damage slows down transcription, which causes problems in key aging pathways — DNA spelling errors Almost every cell in our body contains the complete library of DNA that comprises your genome. (The exceptions are mature red blood cells and cornified cells in your hair, skin, and nails.) Most of that DNA is found in the nucleus of the cells, with smaller fragments around in the…

A study (in mice!) finds that the epigenetic effects of exercise resemble those of epigenetic reprogramming for longevity — Tags and transcripts DNA is the building block of life, and it is made up of four basic units or nucleotides: adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine (A, C, G, and T). Sequences of these ‘DNA letters’ code for proteins, which are essential for our bodies to function properly.

The brains of lonely people go into overdrive, especially the networks involved in imagination and memory — Homo socialis We are social animals. Even the most introverted among us have to admit this. (It’s a mistake to think that people who are introverted are not social, by the way.) In fact, lacking social interaction is quite detrimental to your health. …

The genome of long-lived rockfish holds clues to their longevity and — maybe — we can learn about human lifespan too — Tree of longevity Genetics plays a big role in human longevity. This does not discredit the relevance of lifestyle, but it means that picking your parents wisely gives you a great starting point to hit a hundred. Such hundred-year-olds, or centenarians, are primary study subjects for unraveling the genetics of longevity. Researchers have…

Exposure to events loaded with negative emotions leads to persistent changes in the brains of older people — Old and (not) grumpy The stereotype of the grumpy old man (usually a man, isn’t it?) is at odds with what we observe in reality. Most people who get to be very, very old are not grumpy at all. A more optimistic outlook correlates with better and healthier longevity. It’s a wonder I’m still…

Frequent alcohol consumption does not only make you look older, it ages you epigenetically too — Tag, you’re it Throwing a glance at a calendar will tell you how old you are chronologically, but it’s your body that will tell you how old you are biologically. True, chronological and biological aging correlate pretty well. But not perfectly. We all know someone who is old/young ‘for their age’. …

New study suggests that dinosaurs may have had primate-level cognitive abilities — EQ and IQ Raise your hand if you remember the pack-hunting Velociraptors in the original Jurassic Park movie. All of you? Makes sense, it’s part of our cultural memory by now. In the sequels, the dinosaurs get even smarter. But how clever were they really? We’ll never know. They’ve been extinct for a…