Cells of the same age can follow sharply different biological aging paths

Some cells grow old faster than others: New study reveals aging happens one cell at a time
Polycomb CpG island methylation levels in white and black hairs from a 53-year-old male individual. Credit: Nature Communications (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-74118-5

New research reveals that cells of the same chronological age can follow dramatically different biological aging paths, offering new insights into cancer, neurodegeneration and the fundamental biology of aging. Rather than aging uniformly, tissues become a mosaic of biologically younger and older cells, with some individual cells aging much faster than others—a discovery that could reshape how scientists understand aging and the earliest origins of age-related disease.

#Nature isn't one-size-fits-all, study finds

nature
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

People often talk about "getting out into nature" as if all green spaces offer the same experience.

But a new University of Michigan study suggests that's far from the case. Whether you're strolling through a city park or hiking deep in a national forest can shape not only what you do, but also how you feel, who you spend time with and how you remember the experience.

Life speaks one universal language to activate genes: It speaks many more to silence them

Life speaks one universal language to activate genes. It speaks many more to silence them
From top left clockwise: Spizellomyces punctatus, Acanthamoeba castellanii, Naegleria gruberi and Tetrahymena thermophila. Credit: Sean Montgomery/Centro de Regulación Genómica

The signals that cells use to switch genes on have remained almost unchanged across 2 billion years of evolution, but the ones used to switch genes off vary dramatically from one branch of life to another, according to a new study from the Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona.

South Korea records its highest-ever temperature of 42.5 C

KMA data show the average annual number of heatwave days in the country has more than doubled to 19 over the past five years, from eight in the 1970s
KMA data show the average annual number of heatwave days in the country has more than doubled to 19 over the past five years, from eight in the 1970s.

South Korea registered its highest temperature since records began more than a century ago on Sunday, as authorities warned people to "immediately" stop all outdoor activities in affected areas.

August's total solar eclipse will sweep over Spain, Iceland and Greenland

August’s total solar eclipse will sweep over Spain, Iceland and Greenland
This image provided by NASA and captured by the Artemis II crew from lunar orbit, April 6, 2026, shows the Moon eclipsing the Sun. Credit: NASA via AP, File

For the first time in more than a century, a total solar eclipse is coming to mainland Spain with an even longer encore next summer.

Scientists twist crystal layers and reshape matter from within

Researchers have developed a way to make twisted oxide materials over much larger areas while maintaining precise control over how their layers are rotated. The advance could help move twistronics closer to practical electronic devices by giving scientists greater control over both the scale and internal structure of these materials.

What this western Pennsylvania '90s Pizza Hut reveals about nostalgia

red checkered table cloth pizza
Credit: Sergio Arreola from Pexels

A Pizza Hut in southwest Pennsylvania was recently highlighted for preserving its retro 1990s appearance, even as hundreds of other locations have closed across the United States.

Deadly blooms offer a genetic blueprint for making hard-to-synthesize medicinal compounds

Two deadly flowers have big medical potential
A larkspur specimen in bloom at Beal Botanical Garden. Known for their toxicity, injurious plants such as larkspur and wolfsbane have been leveraged by humans for millennia for their medicinal potential. Credit: Paul Henderson

Two plants that cause neurotoxicity and paralysis in the tiniest doses are also known to counter pain, malaria, cancer and pests. For the first time, researchers discovered a way to recreate these powerful compounds in the lab, helping lead the way to improved, naturally sourced therapeutics.

Scientists left water inside a battery and nearly doubled its power

Sodium ion batteries could offer a more sustainable way to store large amounts of energy, and new research suggests they may eventually serve another valuable purpose: helping remove salt from seawater.

Strengthening El Nino 'adding fuel to a planet already on fire': UN chief

A person cools off with water from an open fire hydrant during a heat wave on the West Side of Chicago
A person cools off with water from an open fire hydrant during a heat wave on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois; Human-caused climate change can amplify El Nino's associated effects because a warmer ocean and atmosphere increase the availability of energy and moisture for extreme weather events.

A strengthening El Niño that could shatter all-time records is "adding fuel to a planet already on fire" and pushing the world into "uncharted territory," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Friday.