Articles

Blocking an ageing enzyme extended life in old mice, but only just

For anyone following anti-ageing drug research: what one mouse study tied to NAD+ adds, how much weight it carries, and what has to happen before it means anything for people.

Four this week: plaque that shrank, a trial BP shot, swallowing gene therapy

4 stories this week: coronary plaque, blood pressure, type 1 diabetes with excess weight and a rare inherited swallowing disease. Two small trials measured on scans and blood tests, one early safety study and one company report, each with what it does not yet prove.

Digest · 4 stories

On atropine drops, fewer children on the edge of myopia crossed over

For parents of school-age children whose eyes are drifting toward short-sightedness: what a year-long placebo-controlled trial of eye drops showed, which children had the clearest result, and why it is too early to pick a strength.

A Mediterranean diet score at 70 did not predict survival after adjustment

For anyone choosing an eating pattern for a long life: what a twenty-year follow-up of 70-year-olds can and cannot say about diet and survival, and where the firmer evidence lies.

A survival gain, a first DNA immunotherapy and a null trial: 4 stories

4 stories this week: lung cancer, a rare HPV disease of the airway, kidney disease after 80 and prostate cancer. One survival result, one approval on a small trial, one observational signal and one negative trial, each with its limit stated.

Digest · 4 stories

A gene-based risk rule would thin out mammograms in the 40s

For women weighing a personal breast cancer risk estimate: what a genetic score can add to decisions about how often to screen, where it falls short, and why age-based advice still applies.

Epigenetic clocks are not yet a validated stand-in for health

For anyone who has bought a biological-age test or seen an ad promising to turn it back: what the evidence says about whether a younger reading tracks better health, and how to read such claims for now.

This week's picks: a prostate cancer approval, 'healthy' weight, AI sleep

4 stories this week: prostate cancer, head and neck cancer, metabolic health with excess weight and automated sleep scoring. One approval, one investigational treatment, one cohort study and one AI model, and each shows where its evidence stops.

Digest · 4 stories

Extra blood test could skip 7 in 10 prostate MRIs but delay 4 in 10 cancers

For men whose PSA sits just below the usual alarm level: what a second blood test before MRI changed in a Swedish screening trial, what it cost in later diagnoses, and why it is not yet routine.

Older people had more taurine, yet extra still helped old mice

Why a popular anti-ageing amino acid may be a sign of the body fighting inflammation rather than a missing nutrient, what a four-month mouse experiment showed, and how far this is from proof in people.

Not the same for everyone: ageing, liver fat and stroke in 4 stories

4 stories this week: healthy ageing, fatty liver disease, stroke treatment and early breast cancer. In each one the result depended on who the patients were or which approach they got, and each shows where its evidence stops.

Digest · 4 stories

Blood tests for dementia caught fewer than 6 in 10 future cases

For people who feel well and wonder whether a dementia blood test is worth taking: what 12 years of follow-up say a positive or a negative result can tell you, and where these tests are recommended today.