Spermine, a small but powerful molecule in the body, helps neutralize harmful protein accumulations linked to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. It encourages these misfolded proteins to gather into manageable clumps that cells can more efficiently dispose of through autophagy. Experiments in nematodes show that spermine also enhances longevity and cellular energy production. These insights open the door to targeted therapies powered by polyamines and advanced AI-driven molecular design.
As we get older, our brains start to change in ways that make them increasingly vulnerable to disease – and a detailed new study of these changes points to a way some of this wear and tear might be prevented or reversed.
Researchers from the Leibniz Institute on Aging – Fritz Lipmann Institute in Germany used mass spectrometry to analyze the balance of brain proteins in both young and old mice, finding differences in a process called ubiquitylation as the animals aged.
Ubiquitylation adds chemical tags to proteins, telling the brain which of these busy molecules are past their peak and should be recycled. In older mouse brains, the ubiquitylation tags really start to pile up on certain proteins.
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MIT researchers have taken a major step toward making this scenario a reality. They developed microscopic, wireless bioelectronics that could travel through the body’s circulatory system and autonomously self-implant in a target region of the brain, where they would provide focused treatment.
In a study on mice, the researchers show that after injection, these miniscule implants can identify and travel to a specific brain region without the need for human guidance. Once there, they can be wirelessly powered to provide electrical stimulation to the precise area. Such stimulation, known as neuromodulation, has shown promise as a way to treat brain tumors and diseases like Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis.
Moreover, because the electronic devices are integrated with living, biological cells before being injected, they are not attacked by the body’s immune system and can cross the blood-brain barrier while leaving it intact. This maintains the barrier’s crucial protection of the brain.
A nonsurgical brain implant enabled through a cell–electronics hybrid for focal neuromodulation.
Photovoltaic devices attached to immune cells travel through the blood to inflamed brain regions.
But on a Monday afternoon in Boiling Springs, only one person showed up.
“It’s progress. That progress is slow,” Linda Bell, the state epidemiologist with the Department of Public Health, said during a recent press briefing. “We had hoped to see a more robust uptake than that in our mobile health units.”
As South Carolina tries to contain its measles outbreak, public health officials across the nation are concerned that the highly contagious virus is making a major comeback. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tallied more than 1,700 measles cases and 45 outbreaks in 2025. The largest started in Texas, where hundreds of people were infected and two children died.
Researchers at Bar-Ilan University have discovered how the longevity-associated protein Sirt6 orchestrates a delicate molecular balancing act that protects the body from age-related decline and disease. The new findings, just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveal how Sirt6 preserves health during aging and may pave the way for therapies that promote a longer, healthier life.
Sirt6, often described as a master regulator of aging, is known for its powerful protective effects against age-related diseases such as cancer, diabetes, inflammation, and frailty. Its impact closely resembles that of calorie restriction, a dietary regimen proven in animals to extend lifespan and enhance the body’s natural repair and healing mechanisms.
Calorie restriction—eating fewer calories without malnutrition—has long been known to improve health and extend lifespan. One of its key effects is to increase the body’s production of hydrogen sulfide (H2S), a tiny gas molecule that supports wound healing, heart health, and brain function. This new study found that as we age, H2S levels naturally decline, weakening these protective benefits.
Transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) is the leading cause of transfusion-related mortality, but its pathogenesis is complex and not well understood. TRALI is thought to develop under a “2-hit” model. In 80% of cases, the second hit is caused by antibodies (specifically anti-HLA class I or II or anti-human neutrophil antigen antibodies); bioactive lipids, extracellular vesicles and other storage-related transfusion products have been linked to the remainder of the TRALI cases. The first-hit, which is related to the patient’s underlying clinical condition, is less well defined. Since patients receiving intensive care are more prone to TRALI and often have elevated levels of extracellular mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), researchers used a murine model to examine whether mitochondria, mtDNA or other damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) can act as a first-hit in an antibody-dependent murine model of TRALI. Injection of purified mitochondria or mtDNA followed by a monoclonal antibody (as a second-hit) caused significantly greater lung injury with increased pulmonary edema, elevated plasma macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2; the mouse ortholog of human IL-8), enhanced neutrophil lung infiltration, hypothermia, and respiratory distress compared to an isotype control. Researchers found that an antagonist to toll-like receptor-9 (TLR-9) attenuated many of the TRALI-like symptoms in mice suggesting that mtDNA and TLR-9 may be involved in the first-hit in some TRALI cases. Targeting mtDNA or the TLR-9 receptor may prove to be a novel therapeutic strategy to prevent the first-hit and TRALI, but further research is needed.
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Scientists have engineered a nanowire platform that mimics brain tissue to study astrocytes, the star-shaped cells critical for brain health, for the first time in their natural state.
Astrocytes are the brain’s most abundant and mysterious cells, responsible for regulating communication between neurons and helping to maintain the blood-brain barrier. They are also highly dynamic shape-shifters, something they do not do on typical petri dishes, leaving major gaps in our understanding of how they operate.
“Frustratingly, little is known about the stunning diversity of astrocyte morphology and we also don’t know much about the molecular machinery behind these shape shifts,” said co-senior author Ishan Barman, a Johns Hopkins University bioengineer. “They won’t take on these shapes on glass, so the question for us was how do we replicate the in vivo shape but in vitro?”
The accompanying diagram presents a comprehensive anatomical overview of the human brain, integrating both lateral surface morphology and a midsagittal section to illustrate the spatial organization of cortical and subcortical structures. Major gyri, sulci, and lobar divisions are delineated alongside deep nuclei, commissural pathways, and the ventricular system. The transparent rendering of the ventricles highlights their relationship to surrounding neural tissue and emphasizes the topology of cerebrospinal fluid pathways. This visualization serves as a structural reference point for understanding functional domains such as sensorimotor processing, higher-order cognition, limbic integration, and autonomic regulation. Collectively, the diagram provides a detailed framework for interpreting neuroanatomical connectivity and its relevance to neural function.
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Cerebrospinal Fluid Mechanics and Its Coupling to Cerebrovascular Dynamics: https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annur…#45;034321
CSF dynamics throughout the ventricular system using 4D flow MRI: associations to arterial pulsatility, ventricular volumes, and age: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12987-024-00570-4
Fundamental functional differences between gyri and sulci: implications for brain function, cognition, and behavior: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38665307/?utm_source=chatgpt.com.
Brain ventricles as windows into brain development and disease: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S089662732…hatgpt.com