Japan has one of the world’s longest-living populations, yet predicting which octogenarians will lose their independence remains difficult. Now, researchers identify two blood proteins—beta-2-microglobulin and cystatin C—that are consistently associated with future disability in adults aged 85 years and older. The findings, independently replicated in an Italian aging cohort, suggest that kidney dysfunction and chronic inflammation contribute to disability risk and could support earlier preventive interventions in rapidly aging populations worldwide.

All living things have a fleet of tiny copy machines that turn instructions from DNA into RNA, the molecules responsible for helping build proteins that keep organisms alive. One of those nanoscale machines, called eukaryotic RNA polymerase II, performs a crucial early step required by nearly every biological process. It makes messages, copying and carrying instructions from the cell nucleus to make proteins.

Until recently, scientists had only witnessed the eukaryotic RNA at work in carefully assembled test tubes, stripped of the chaotic realities of life inside a cell. Now, a team led by Penn State researchers has captured a glimpse of this molecular machinery as it operates inside living organisms. 

A tiny chemical difference helps make RNA better than DNA at condensing into liquid-like droplets under high temperatures and acidic conditions.