Aging

New research has found diabetic patients using a drug called metformin experience slower rates of cognitive decline and dementia compared to those not using the drug. The findings build on a body of evidence suggesting this drug generates anti-aging effects.

A new study has compared the physical and cognitive performance of a group of older people in 2017 with a similarly aged group three decades earlier. Improvements were seen in almost every test, suggesting progress has been made extending healthspan.

A new study has found mice given supplements of an endogenous metabolite display significant healthspan improvements. The research follows on from other animal studies with the same compound and a clinical trial in middle-aged humans is getting underway.

A new study has found young cancer survivors show high expression of a gene known to be an effective marker of aging. The researchers say this genetic biomarker could identify cancer survivors most at risk of later-life frailty due to their treatment.

The results of the largest clinical trial ever conducted into the relationship between vitamin D and depression suggest the vitamin does not improve mood or prevent depression. The trial did not investigate subjects with pre-existing vitamin D deficiencies.

New research suggests violent or traumatic experiences in childhood can accelerate biological signs of aging. Early puberty, rapid cellular aging, and structural brain changes could all be linked to violent childhood trauma, but not poverty or neglect.

A new study is providing insights into a cellular energy pathway linked to longer lifespan. The research, conducted in human cells and roundworms, raises the prospect of anti-aging therapeutics that can extend lifespan by activating this pathway.

A large gene study has discovered several genomic regions linked to longer and healthier lives are also involved in metabolizing iron in the blood. The research suggests abnormal blood iron levels may fundamentally underpin many age-related diseases.

An intriguing study has identified a protein produced by the liver after exercise that could protect the brain from cognitive decline. The study points to the possibility of developing a drug to generate this same effect without the need for exercise.

One of the many deteriorative effects of aging in humans is a decline in immune system function. But scientists may have uncovered a way to reverse this trend by transplanting a type of white blood cell from the young into the old.

For a rough idea of a dog’s physical age, a popular approach is to simply multiply its actual age by seven, but new research upends this piece of conventional wisdom by drilling into the rate of molecular changes in their DNA.

Studies have seen physical activity slow age-related vision loss, but it hasn’t been clear how causal that relationship has been. New research is now offering the first evidence to show how exercise can directly slow, or prevent, macular degeneration.