Researchers developed seven MRI-based biological age clocks across major organs using UK Biobank imaging, linking each to proteins, metabolites, genetics, disease risks, mortality, and cognitive decline. These organ-specific age gaps reveal how uneven aging shapes vulnerability to conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and dementia, opening new paths for precision prevention and clinical trial stratification
The microbiome encompasses all the microorganisms and viruses that reside in a particular environment in the body. Recent research on the relationship between the gut microbiome and a person’s health has led to an increased understanding of how specific microbiota can benefit or hinder the immune response in cancer patients and an individual’s response to cancer treatment.
A new publication in Cell Systems highlights the value of understanding the connections between microbiota and cancer therapy. The study demonstrates that a bacterium associated with colorectal cancer can elicit an anti-cancer effect on tumor cells.
The researchers employed a rigorous four-way screening approach to meticulously examine the molecular-level interactions between the host, microbe, drug, and nutrient. This comprehensive screening approach identified a metabolite, 2-methylisocitrate, that was upregulated in human tumor-associated microbiota, providing a solid foundation for the study’s findings.
Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer in the world as well as the most common malignancy in Korean women, and the incidence continues to increase [1, 2]. Due to increased early detection with cancer screening programs and advances in systemic treatment such as chemotherapy, anti-hormone therapy, and human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2)-targeted therapy, more patients are surviving after treatment for BC [3].
Current surveillance guidelines for follow-up after a diagnosis of BC recommend regular mammography (MMG) and physical examinations as well as further symptom-related laboratory tests and imaging tests, such as computed tomography (CT) or positron emission tomography-CT scans [4, 5]. These guidelines are based on data from clinical trials performed in the early 1990’s, which did not show any survival benefit with the early detection of distant metastasis [6, 7]. However, those clinical trials were mainly conducted using imaging modalities with poor sensitivity (e.g., chest X-ray), physical examinations with examiner-dependent variation of sensitivity (e.g., abdominal sonography), or procedures with limited specificity (e.g., bone scan), and did not include tumor markers (e.g., cancer antigen 15–3 [CA15-3]).
CA15-3 is a serum tumor marker for BC extensively used in clinical practice. CA15-3 is non-invasive, easily available, and a cost-effective tumor marker for immediate diagnosis, monitoring, and prediction of BC in early, advanced, and metastatic BC [8, 9, 10]. However, to the best of our knowledge, its clinical value within normal range has not been assessed. We hypothesized that an elevation of CA15-3 levels which were initially within normal ranges in patients with early BC could affect recurrence of BC; thus, the association between elevated CA15-3 levels and BC recurrence was analyzed in the present study.
Li et al. report that Edwardsiella piscicida employs HigA, an anti-toxin protein, to facilitate the diversion of tryptophan metabolism to the kynurenine pathway, rather than the serotonin pathway, by directly activating IDO1 in a T6SS-dependent manner as a cross-kingdom effector. The serotonin-level fluctuation modulates host intestinal histological damage and bacterial infection.
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Plastic is ubiquitous in the modern world, and it’s notorious for taking a long time to completely break down in the environment—if it ever does.
But even without breaking down completely, plastic can shed tiny particles —called nanoplastics because of their extremely small size—that scientists are just now starting to consider in long-term health studies.
One of those scientists is Dr. Wei Xu, an associate professor in the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences’ Department of Veterinary Physiology & Pharmacology. Xu’s current work is focused on what happens when nanoplastics interact with seawater, where they can pick up some curious hitchhikers in the form of chemicals and organic components.
She said that the new framework represents a “landmark step,” and that the measure could allow conservationists to consider new ways to address the risks of climate change or test new methods of suppressing disease.
The IUCN — a large group of conservation organizations, governments and Indigenous groups with more than 1,400 members from about 160 countries — meets once every four years. It is the world’s largest network of environmental groups and the authority behind the red list, which tracks threatened species and global biodiversity.