Dehydration can sneak up on you. Whether you’re out jogging or sitting at a desk, it’s easy to lose track of your fluid intake. But a new, tiny sweat sensor may soon solve this problem. Designed by UC Berkeley researchers, this wearable device can measure changes in your hydration status and help you decide when it’s time to take a break and get some water.
In a study recently published in Nature Electronics, researchers demonstrated how their sweat sensor measures electrodermal activity (EDA), an electrical property of the skin, to monitor hydration levels during physical activity. Until now, EDA, or skin conductance, has been thought to be effective at assessing only mental stress.
These findings could broaden EDA’s role in physiological monitoring and someday provide a simple way for people to also avoid dehydration.
Living to 100 may sound like a dream, but thanks to advancements in anti-aging and longevity research, it’s becoming more of a realistic goal than ever before. While genetics play a role, experts say your daily habits have a major impact on how gracefully—and healthfully—you age. From diet and movement to mindset and skincare, there are key lifestyle shifts and science-backed secrets that can help slow the aging process, boost vitality, and support a longer, more vibrant life.
Robert Love, a neuroscientist, shared three anti-aging and longevity secrets you should know about if you want to “slow down aging” and “even help reverse aging.” According to him, prioritizing sleep, avoiding ultra-processed foods, and taking healthy supplements are some of the best options. Read on to learn more.
Prioritizing sleep is one of the most powerful (and underrated) anti-aging tools you have. During deep sleep, your body goes into repair mode—producing growth hormone, regenerating cells, and fixing damage caused by stress and environmental factors. This nightly “reset” helps keep your skin, organs, and even brain functioning optimally.
In their study, published in Mechanobiology in Medicine, the researchers discovered that the protein responsible for binding neural stem cells in the human brain, neuro-cadherin, also plays a key role in stimulating their differentiation.
Neural stem cells are early-stage, unspecialized cells that have the ability to differentiate, or develop, into various types of neurons and non-neuronal cells of the central nervous system.
As the first generation that interacted with digital technology reaches an age where dementia risks emerge, scientists have asked the question: Is there a correlation between digital technology use and an increased risk of dementia? With the phrases “brain rot” and “brain drain” circulating on social media, it would appear that most people would assume the answer is yes.
However, a new study in Nature Human Behavior by neuroscientists at Baylor University and the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School reveals the opposite—digital technologies are actually associated with reduced cognitive decline.
The study, “A meta-analysis of technology use and cognitive aging,” was sparked by the ongoing concern about the passive activity of digital technologies and their relation to accelerating risks of dementia. Study co-authors are Jared F. Benge, Ph.D., clinical neuropsychologist and associate professor of neurology at Dell Medical School and UT Health Austin’s Comprehensive Memory Center within the Mulva Clinic for the Neurosciences, and Michael K. Scullin, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor.
Human brains make synaptic connections throughout much of childhood, and the brain’s plasticity enables humans to slowly wire them based upon experiences, contrary to how chimpanzees develop. Humans and chimpanzees share 98.8% of the same genes, but scientists have been looking for what drives the unique cognitive and social skills of humans.
A new study, which was published today in Genome Research, that examined brain samples from humans, chimpanzees, and macaques, collected from birth up to the end of their life span, has found some key differences between the expression of genes that control the development and function of synapses, which are the connections between neurons through which information flows.