A 5-day fasting-mimicking diet may lower biological age, improve insulin resistance and liver fat, and rejuvenate immune markers without full fasting.
Category: life extension
Boosting telomerase activity slows lung cell aging in pulmonary fibrosis study
Pulmonary fibrosis—also known in technical terms as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)—is a rare but life-threatening disease. It causes scarring of the connective tissue between the functional tissue of the lungs, leading to increasing shortness of breath. Current treatments can slow the progression of fibrosis, but cannot cure it. The average life expectancy after diagnosis is only four to six years. New therapies are therefore urgently needed.
A research team led by Professor Christian Bär, research group leader at the Institute for Molecular and Translational Therapy Strategies at Hannover Medical School (MHH), and his colleague Dr. Shambhabi Chatterjee has turned its attention to the interior of cells, or more precisely to telomeres. These are protective caps at the ends of chromosomes, the carriers of our genetic information.
With each cell division, the telomeres shorten a little until they reach a critical length and the genes they protect could be damaged. Then the cell stops dividing and the tissue ages.
New genetic biomarker flags aggressive brain tumors
Clinicians typically classify meningiomas — the most common type of brain tumor — into three grades, ranging from slow-growing to aggressive.
But a new multi-institutional study suggests that appearances may be deceiving. If a tumor shows activity in a gene called telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), it tends to recur more quickly, even if it looks low-grade under the microscope.
Researchers discover that when meningiomas, a type of brain tumor, shows activity in the TERT gene, it tends to recur more quickly.
Boosting one protein helps the brain protect itself from Alzheimer’s
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have identified a natural process in the brain that can remove existing amyloid plaques in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease while also helping preserve memory and thinking ability. This process relies on astrocytes, star shaped support cells, which can be guided to clear out the toxic plaque buildup commonly seen in Alzheimer’s. When the team increased the amount of Sox9, a protein that influences many astrocyte functions during aging, the cells became more effective at removing amyloid deposits. The findings, reported in Nature Neuroscience, suggest that strengthening astrocyte activity could one day help slow cognitive decline linked to neurodegenerative disorders.
“Astrocytes perform diverse tasks that are essential for normal brain function, including facilitating brain communications and memory storage. As the brain ages, astrocytes show profound functional alterations; however, the role these alterations play in aging and neurodegeneration is not yet understood,” said first author Dr. Dong-Joo Choi, who conducted this work while at the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy and the Department of Neurosurgery at Baylor. Choi is now an assistant professor at the Center for Neuroimmunology and Glial Biology, Institute of Molecular Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
Rejuvenating the blood: New pharmacological strategy targets RhoA in hematopoietic stem cells
Aging is defined as the deterioration of function over time, and it is one of the main risk factors for numerous chronic diseases. Although aging is a complex phenomenon affecting the whole organism, it is proved that the solely manifestation of aging in the hematopoietic system affects the whole organism. Last September, Dr. M. Carolina Florian and her team revealed the significance of using blood stem cells to pharmacologically target aging of the whole body, thereby suggesting rejuvenating strategies that could extend healthspan and lifespan.
Now, in a Nature Aging, they propose rejuvenating aged blood stem cells by treating them with the drug Rhosin, a small molecule that inhibits RhoA, a protein that is highly activated in aged hematopoietic stem cells. This study combined in vivo and in vitro assays at IDIBELL together with innovative machine learning techniques by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a center supported by the “la Caixa” Foundation, and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center.
Biological age measured by DNA methylation clocks and frailty: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Higher GrimAge EAA is consistently associated with higher frailty. Future research should focus on developing and validating DNA methylation clocks that integrate molecular surrogates of health risk and are specifically trained to predict frailty in large, harmonised, longitudinal cohorts, enabling their translation into clinical practice.
Dr. Carina Kern — CEO, LinkGevity — Necrosis Inhibitors To Pause The Diseases Of Aging
Necrosis Inhibitors To Pause The Diseases Of Aging — Dr. Carina Kern Ph.D. — CEO, LinkGevity
Dr. Carina Kern, Ph.D. is the CEO of LinkGevity (https://www.linkgevity.com/), an AI-powered biotech company driving innovation in drug discovery for aging and resilience loss.
Dr. Kern has developed a new Blueprint Theory of Aging, which takes an integrative approach to understanding aging, combining evolutionary theory, genetics, molecular mechanisms and medicine, and is used to structure LinkGevity’s AI.
Dr. Kern’s labs are based at the Babraham Research Campus, affiliated with the University of Cambridge and her research has led to the development of a first-in-class necrosis inhibitor targeting cellular degeneration (Anti-Necrotic™). This novel therapeutic is ready to begin Phase II clinical trials later this year, as a potential breakthrough treatment for aging, with UK Government, Francis Crick Institute KQ labs, and European Union (Horizon) support.
The Anti-Necrotic™ has also been selected as one of only 12 global innovations for NASA’s Space-Health program, recognizing its potential to mitigate accelerated aging in astronauts on long-duration space missions.
Vegetarian diet and healthy aging among Chinese older adults: a prospective study
From the article:
Following a vegetarian diet can be a boon for your health, even possibly cutting your risk of certain chronic illnesses, according to the Mayo Clinic. Yet a recent study, conducted by nutrition experts and published in the Nature journal npj Aging, suggests that not everyone will experience the same benefits when they cut out meat entirely. Adults over the age of 60 may have different nutritional needs, meaning a more diverse diet could instead help them live longer… Utilizing data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, the study reviewed information from nearly 2,900 Chinese older adults who were considered to be healthy. Participants’ diets were categorized four ways:
- vegan (avoiding any animal products, including eggs, seafood, or dairy) — ovo-vegetarian (vegetarian plus the inclusion of eggs) — pesco-vegetarian (vegetarian plus the inclusion of fish and seafood) — omnivorous (eating both plant-and animal-based products)
After an average follow-up period of six years, “Individuals who maintained omnivorous diets from age 60 years had higher odds of achieving healthy aging” versus those who “consistently” followed vegetarian eating patterns. When the team further analyzed the health data of those who survived to age 80, omnivorous eaters were more likely than vegetarians to avoid major chronic disease, physical function impairment, and cognitive impairment.
“Given age-related physiological changes in digestive and metabolic systems” in aging adults, the study specifically flagged the potential for muscle loss and bone fracture for those adhering to vegetarian diets. Another interesting discovery: older adults following a vegan diet were “most strongly associated with adverse effects on healthy aging,” which the text attributes to an increased risk of protein deficiency.”
npj Aging — Vegetarian diet and healthy aging among Chinese older adults: a prospective study. npj Aging 11, 25 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41514-025-00213-4