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Recent research has suggested that the hippocampus, vital to memory function, has evolved to operate at the upper edge of its normal supply of nutrients and energy. Even minor reductions to that supply will produce functional issues in memory, and there are many mechanisms by which aging reduces the supply […]

Klotho is one of the few well-established longevity-associated genes that works in both directions in animal models: less klotho shortens life span, while more klotho extends life. Klotho also improves cognitive function. The mechanisms by which klotho produces these outcomes remain poorly understood: there is the usual grab-bag of identified […]

Loss of muscle mass and strength in astronauts remains an issue for space exploration. Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), a nematode species that is 1 mm long, shares common traits with humans and these worms are a good, cost-effective model for studying the effects of spaceflight on muscle. A NASA-funded research team […]

The flexibility of skin, and other elastic tissue such as blood vessel walls, depends upon the structural arrangement of elastin in the extracellular matrix. Elastin is largely laid down during the developmental period of life, and not much repaired thereafter. Disruption of this structure is progressive over time, and is […]

Inhibitory neurons target the weakest-responding neurons in the brain to facilitate transmission of signals. When looking at a complex landscape, the eye needs to focus in on important details without losing the big picture—a charging lion in a jungle, for example. Now, a new study by Salk scientists shows how […]

Salk scientists find that canopy shade from competing plants triggers cellular changes in as little as five minutes. Scientists and gardeners have long known that plants grow taller and flower sooner when they are shaded by close-growing neighbors. Now, for the first time, researchers at the Salk Institute have shown […]