February might be the shortest month of the year, but it still has room for plenty of research and advancements. Here’s what’s happened over the last four weeks.
Interviews
Junevity Is Silencing RNA to Treat Obesity and Diabetes: Some longevity biotech companies fit neatly into one of the big buckets we have in this field, like senolytics or cellular reprogramming. Others, such as Junevity, a small spin-out from the University of California, San Francisco, dare to walk an unbeaten path.
Advocacy and Analysis
The Underexplored Applications of Longevity Biotechnology: No other human endeavor today holds more promise than understanding and targeting aging. The molecular mechanisms that drive aging impact overall vigor, environmental stress resistance, reproductive health, and broad disease risk, and they fundamentally change what life means by radically changing our relationship to death.
Impressions from Hevolution’s Global Healthspan Summit 2025: These are some of the best talks from the largest healthspan conference in the world, which was held for the third time in Riyadh by the Hevolution Foundation.
Research Roundup
New Nanoparticles for Treating Arthritis: In the Journal of Nanobiotechnology, researchers have described a new method of delivering a long-lasting treatment, which involves the crucial FGF18 protein, into cartilage.
Early Adult Mortality Remains High in the US: Mortality among Americans aged 25-44 has risen substantially between 2011 and 2023, a new study has found, and it remains high even after having passed the COVID-related peak.
How the Yamanaka Factors Affect Female Reproduction in Rats: The authors of a recent study reported that OSKM/Yamanaka factor gene therapy in rats results in higher fertility at an older age compared to controls and allows older rats to have regular cycle.
Some Stem Cells Remain Youthful With Age: A team of scientists has discovered that some hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) lose their ability to differentiate into useful somatic cells and that removing those bad HSCs is beneficial.
Creating a Functional Pancreas From Human Cells: In Cell Reports Medicine, researchers have described how they created a fully functional pancreas made from human cells and found it to work in mice, paving the way for a new era of organ replacement.
Mitochondrial Damage May Drive Type 2 Diabetes: A new study suggests that damaged mitochondria activate the integrated stress response, which causes pancreatic β-cells, as well as liver and fat cells, to lose their identity and malfunction. Blocking this response had benefits in mouse models.
Probiotics Slow Down Alzheimer’s Disease in Mice: A new study dives into a human-derived probiotic cocktail meant to protect against Alzheimer’s disease. The treatment improves gut health and reduces inflammation in mice.
A Potential New Target for Normal Brain Aging: In Aging Cell, researchers published their findings that using gene therapy to overexpress a synaptic promoter increases cognitive ability in ordinary, middle-aged mice.
A Key Protein for Tendon Health: Researchers publishing in Matrix Biology Plus have discovered that cochlin, a protein that decreases with age and has significant effects on the extracellular matrix, is vital for the health of tendons.
Repurposing Drugs to Lower Dementia Risk: The authors of a recent review analyzed the results of 14 studies that included 139 million people to identify patterns that connect dementia risk to commonly used medications.
Young Plasma Decreases Inflammation After Surgery in Trial: In the Journal of Translational Medicine, researchers have published the results of a randomized, controlled clinical trial demonstrating that plasma proteins from young donors have beneficial effects against inflammation in a surgical context.
A Generative, Foundational AI Model for Genetics: The Arc Institute, a nonprofit research organization, has published a manuscript on its creation of Evo 2, an AI foundation model that is capable of both understanding and building full genomes of organisms.
Receiving Care in Your Language Linked to Lower Health Risks: A new study suggests that people with hypertension who receive care in their preferred language are less likely to have a major cardiovascular event or die from any cause.
Effects of Estradiol and Progesterone on Knee Osteoarthritis: Recent research has addressed menopause-related molecular processes that impact the high prevalence of knee osteoarthritis in post-menopausal women. Restoration of female sex hormones in a post-menopausal mouse model improved joint health.
A Protein That Controls Senescent Cell Structure: Researchers publishing in Cellular Signaling have explained how the protein AP2A1 affects stress fibers that change with cellular senescence, altering how cells adhere to the extracellular matrix.
Individual and additive effects of vitamin D, omega-3 and exercise on DNA methylation clocks of biological aging in older adults from the DO-HEALTH trial: In summary, this trial indicates a small protective effect of omega-3 treatment on slowing biological aging over 3 years across several clocks, with an additive protective effect of omega-3, vitamin D and exercise based on PhenoAge.
Senolytic compounds reduce epigenetic age of blood samples in vitro: Of eight tested compounds, JQ1, RG7112, nutlin-3a, and AMG232 reduced epigenetic age, indicating that this approach may be useful in drug screening for senolytic compounds.
Golgi-restored vesicular replenishment retards bone aging and empowers aging bone regeneration: Collectively, these findings provide insights into Golgi regulation in stem cell senescence and bone aging, which further highlight CA-EVs as a potential rejuvenative approach for aging bone regeneration.
Reduction of DNA Topoisomerase Top2 Reprograms the Epigenetic Landscape and Extends Health and Life Span Across Species: These observations suggest that Top2 reduction confers a pro-longevity effect across species, possibly through a conserved mechanism, and may be a promising strategy for longevity intervention.
Changing life expectancy in European countries 1990–2021: a subanalysis of causes and risk factors from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021: The countries that best maintained improvements in life expectancy after 2011 (Norway, Iceland, Belgium, Denmark, and Sweden) did so through better maintenance of reductions in mortality from cardiovascular diseases and neoplasms, underpinned by decreased exposures to major risks, possibly mitigated by government policies.
Enhanced paracrine action of FGF21 in stromal cells delays thymic aging: These findings establish that paracrine FGF21 improves thymic function and delays immune aging.
AI-Driven Robotics Laboratory Identifies Pharmacological TNIK Inhibition as a Potent Senomorphic Agent: Thus, TNIK inhibition as a novel senomorphic strategy may inform future therapeutic approaches for diverse aging-related diseases.
Glibenclamide targets MDH2 to relieve aging phenotypes through metabolism-regulated epigenetic modification: This research not only identified MDH2 as a potential therapeutic target and Gli as a lead compound for anti-aging drug development, but also shed light on the intricate interplay of metabolism and epigenetic modifications in aging.
A pilot study of senolytics to improve cognition and mobility in older adults at risk for Alzheimer’s disease: This study suggests that intermittent dasatinib and quercetin treatment is feasible and safe; data hint at potential functional benefits in older adults at risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Augmenting Cognitive Function in the Elderly with Mild Cognitive Impairment Using Probiotic Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus CBT-LR5: These findings provide foundational evidence suggesting that MH-Pro supplementation may serve as a potential intervention for enhancing cognitive function through gut–brain axis pathways in the elderly population.
Restoring neuropeptide Y levels in the hypothalamus ameliorates premature aging phenotype in mice: Moreover, these results suggest that strategies that promote maintenance of hypothalamic NPY levels might be relevant to counteract aging progression and age-related deteriorations.
Circular RNA Telomerase Reverses Endothelial Senescence in Progeria: These data suggest that TERT circRNA is superior to linear TERT mRNA in reversing processes involved in senescence.
Long-term effects of s-KL treatment in wild-type mice: enhancing longevity, physical well-being, and neurological resilience: These results show the potential of elevating s-KL expression to simultaneously reduce the age-associated degeneration in multiple organs, increasing both life and health span.
Playful brains: a possible neurobiological pathway to cognitive health in aging: Engaging in exploratory social activities and stimulating the LC through social playfulness may offer a promising pathway to promote cognitive health and support healthy aging.
News Nuggets
Phoenix Aerie: The Launchpad for Longevity Pioneers: Phoenix Aerie (P//A), the first-ever co-living house specifically dedicated to enriching, uplifting, and empowering young longevity pioneers, will be launching. P//A offers a unique environment where emerging leaders live, learn, and grow together in the heart of the Bay Area.
Junevity Launches to Develop Cell Reset Therapeutics: Junevity, a biotechnology company on a mission to extend lifespan and healthspan by resetting cell damage from age-related diseases, announced $10 million in seed funding led by Goldcrest Capital and Godfrey Capital.
