Increased chromosomal instability impairs oocyte quality, contributing to female reproductive aging. The telomeric DNA damage response (DDR) is essential for genomic stability. Although telomeric DDR has been extensively studied in somatic cells, its role in oocyte aging remains unclear.

A new study identifies the Levant Basin in the southeastern Mediterranean as one of the world's most polluted deep-sea regions, with exceptionally high concentrations of plastic bags and packaging on the seafloor. The research uncovers how lightweight plastic, once thought to float indefinitely, sinks through a combination of sediment, tar, and shell adhesion—solving a long-standing mystery of deep-sea plastic accumulation.

The project aims to study the mental health of adolescents aged 14 to 17 living in Spain and to analyse which support networks are important at this stage. To do so, both qualitative and quantitative methodologies were combined, yielding several samples: a representative sample of 806 adolescents nationwide and an additional sample of 228 LGTBI+ adolescents for the survey and 44 LGTBQI+ participants in discussion groups.

The results show that 11.2% of adolescents in the overall sample report feeling very or quite unhappy, and 38.8% indicate that they have experienced loneliness regularly in the past year. Regarding depression, 14% would be experiencing severe episodes, and 6.6% would be in very severe episodes.

Additionally, the study finds that 15.7% of respondents report having attempted suicide, 19.8% have considered it, and 29.3% have engaged in self-harming behaviours in the past year, of which 10.5% report thinking about it frequently.

A small-molecule compound named TAC has been identified that reawakens the catalytic subunit of telomerase (TERT) in somatic cells and, in doing so, stalls multiple hallmarks of natural aging without provoking cancer. Administered intraperitoneally to middle-aged mice, the 400 Da lipophilic agent crosses the blood–brain barrier, elevates TERT transcription within brain, heart and skeletal muscle, and lengthens telomeres while suppressing DNA damage foci. Over a six-month regimen it improved hippocampal neurogenesis, reversed neuromuscular decline and enhanced cognition; mechanistically, these gains trace to a MEK/ERK/FOS/AP-1 signalling cascade that drives TERT expression and, in turn, epigenetically silences p16^INK4a^ via DNMT3b-mediated promoter hypermethylation. Concomitantly, the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (IL-1β, IL-6, MMP-3, VEGF) is down-regulated, systemic low-grade inflammation subsides and no neoplastic lesions appear.

Game-based training improves not only the cognitive abilities of people with initial signs of developing dementia, but also leads to positive changes in the brain. That is according to two new studies by researchers from ETH Zurich and Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences (OST).