Joao Pedro Magalhaes @jpsenescence

PNAS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...

Larval diapause slows adult epigenetic aging in an insect model, Nasonia vitripennis
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

29.07.2025 17:25 — 👍 4 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0

Open problems in ageing science: A roadmap for biogerontology The field of ageing science has gone through remarkable progress in recent decades, yet many fundamental questions remain unanswered or unexplored. Here we present a curated list of 100 open problems ...

New preprint with our list of 100 open problems in ageing science.

Our curated list captures both long-standing fundamental questions and emerging research frontiers.

A massive team effort by >30 researchers from many disciplines in biogerontology.

arxiv.org/abs/2507.18602

28.07.2025 19:07 — 👍 7 🔁 6 💬 0 📌 0

Understanding the role of ageing in the thermal responses of life history and fitness in Daphnia magna | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences The current climate warming has raised concerns that increased rates of ageing will lead to reduced fitness and population viability in ectotherms. However, it is currently not known whether temperatu...

Understanding the role of ageing in the thermal responses of life history and fitness in Daphnia magna
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

26.07.2025 23:06 — 👍 3 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0

I had a wonderful time in my hometown of Porto for my first conference on the history, philosophy, and social studies of biology. Grateful for the insights and conversations with biologists, philosophers, and other experts. Left with plenty to ponder about the nature and evolution of ageing.

26.07.2025 12:51 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

MethAgingDB: a comprehensive DNA methylation database for aging biology - Scientific Data Scientific Data - MethAgingDB: a comprehensive DNA methylation database for aging biology

MethAgingDB: a comprehensive DNA methylation database for aging biology
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

22.07.2025 16:28 — 👍 4 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 0

21.07.2025 13:27 — 👍 5 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

A trade-off between body mass and cancer resistance in cetaceans is mediated by cell cycle-related gene evolution Abstract. Cetaceans, well-known for their exceptionally long lifespans and substantial body masses, demonstrate a lower risk of cancer mortality compared t

A trade-off between body mass and cancer resistance in cetaceans is mediated by cell cycle-related gene evolution
academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...

17.07.2025 12:18 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

An overview of contemporary theories of ageing - Nature Cell Biology This Review provides an overview of modern mechanistic theories and critically examines two main groups of ageing theories—error and program based—in the context of ageing patterns, genetic manipulati...

An overview of contemporary theories of ageing
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

16.07.2025 20:59 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Modelling the ageing dependence of cancer evolutionary trajectories - Nature Reviews Cancer In this Review, Henry and DeGregori discuss the contributions of the various models and methods used to study the connection between ageing and cancer, highlighting the strengths and limitations of th...

A wonderful review on the aging and cancer interface by Curtis J. Henry & James DeGregori.

Although the most significant risk factor for cancer is old age, most studies on the causes and treatments of cancer are performed in young animals.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

15.07.2025 21:26 — 👍 4 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Senolytic Update

Senolytic Update
www.science.org/content/blog...

14.07.2025 21:31 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Cancer progression through the lens of age-induced metabolic reprogramming - Nature Reviews Cancer In this Perspective, Lazure and Gomes argue that metabolic changes that occur as a result of ageing may shape tumour initiation and progression and the development of metastatic disease.

Cancer progression through the lens of age-induced metabolic reprogramming
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

11.07.2025 21:11 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Protocol for the REBOUND study: a cohort study to uncover fundamental mechanisms of accelerated ageing and impaired resilience following cancer surgery and treatment - BMC Geriatrics Background Ageing is a heterogeneous process, which is associated with heterogeneous resilience in older people. Cancer surgery and treatment may be associated with accelerated ageing in some older pe...

Protocol for the upcoming REBOUND study, a collaboration between Birmingham and KCL funded by @wellcometrust.bsky.social

This study will have wide-ranging impact on our understanding of the impact of cancer surgery and treatment on markers of ageing.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

09.07.2025 17:05 — 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Transcriptomic entropy reveals tissue-specific patterns in aging and predicts cancer progression Aging and cancer share complex molecular mechanisms, yet distinguishing between causative factors and byproducts remains challenging. Here, we investigated the role of transcriptomic entropy in aging and cancer processes by analyzing RNA-sequencing data from thousands of human and mouse samples. We found that entropy changes during aging are highly tissue-specific, with some tissues showing increased entropy while others exhibit decreased or stable entropy levels. Transcriptomic entropy strongly correlates with age-related processes, showing positive associations with proliferation, cellular senescence, and somatic mutation burden, while negatively correlating with stemness. Surprisingly, cellular reprogramming also increases transcriptomic entropy. In cancer, we observed that primary tumors generally display higher entropy than normal tissue, with entropy levels further increasing in metastatic stages. Notably, treatment-resistant tumors showed distinct entropy patterns, with acquired resistance associated with increased entropy, while primary resistance and immediate post-treatment responses showed decreased entropy. Higher entropy levels predicted poor survival outcomes in multiple cancer types, suggesting its potential as a prognostic marker. Furthermore, differential expression analysis revealed that entropy-associated genes are enriched in developmental processes and depleted in metabolic pathways, indicating a possible link to cellular dedifferentiation. Finally, we found increased entropy in various age-related diseases beyond cancer, suggesting that transcriptomic disorder may be a common feature in age-related pathologies. Our findings establish transcriptomic entropy as a fundamental parameter in aging and cancer progression, offering new insights into disease mechanisms and challenging the current view that increased disorder is always detrimental. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), [2023/11499-8] Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), [2018/15579-8] Instituto Serrapilheira

Transcriptomic entropy reveals tissue-specific patterns in aging and predicts cancer progression
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

07.07.2025 22:51 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Senolytics under scrutiny in the quest to slow aging - @jpsenescence.bsky.social bit.ly/4lzqTbc

07.07.2025 15:06 — 👍 3 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 1

Reporting quality, effect sizes, and biases for aging interventions: a methodological appraisal of the DrugAge database Though interest has grown significantly over the past decades in interventions that may slow the aging process, most evidence for these interventions still comes from experiments in non-human animals. These studies may suffer from design, quality and reporting issues. The quality and reporting of preclinical studies have not yet been studied systematically in anti-aging research. Here we analyzed the DrugAge database, assessing reporting study quality, bias and effect sizes across 667 anti-aging preclinical studies. We found significant shortcomings in reporting of crucial design features such as randomization and blinding, as well as large variation in reporting quality and effects across species. Non-mammal findings typically did not translate to mammals. Although anti-aging interventions may have different effects depending on when they are started, most studies began giving the intervention under investigation very early in the organism's lifespan. Our findings suggest there is substantial room for improvement in preclinical anti-aging research. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

New systematic analysis of aging interventions 🚨

Using DrugAge, we evaluated quality, effect sizes, and biases.

Delighted to have contributed to this work, led by Austin Parish, with meta-research pioneer John Ioannidis et al.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

06.07.2025 17:53 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

An evolutionary medicine and life history perspective on aging and disease: Trade-offs, hyperfunction, and mismatch Abstract. The rise in chronic diseases over the last century presents a significant health and economic burden globally. Here, we apply evolutionary medici

An evolutionary medicine and life history perspective on aging and disease: Trade-offs, hyperfunction, and mismatch
academic.oup.com/emph/article...

04.07.2025 14:41 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Senolytics under scrutiny in the quest to slow aging - Nature Biotechnology Nature Biotechnology - Senolytics under scrutiny in the quest to slow aging

Can senolytics slow aging?

Recent clinical trials and the largest mouse study of senolytics to date have failed to support this notion, raising questions regarding the future of senolytics as an anti-aging therapy.

The latest @natbiotech.nature.com

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

03.07.2025 09:29 — 👍 6 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 0

An overview of contemporary theories of ageing - Nature Cell Biology This Review provides an overview of modern mechanistic theories and critically examines two main groups of ageing theories—error and program based—in the context of ageing patterns, genetic manipulati...

New paper on theories of ageing 🚨

I introduce the major mechanistic theories of ageing in light of recent findings and discuss the fundamental nature of the ageing process.

Theoretical work is more important than ever in biology, particularly in ageing research.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

01.07.2025 09:40 — 👍 14 🔁 8 💬 0 📌 0

Avian Lifespan Network Reveals Shared Mechanisms and New Key Players in Animal Longevity In this work, we found that birds with similar lifespans exhibit convergent evolution in specific genes, suggesting that shared evolutionary pressures shape the genetic basis of lifespan similarity a....

Avian Lifespan Network Reveals Shared Mechanisms and New Key Players in Animal Longevity
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

30.06.2025 14:41 — 👍 3 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0

The Biology of Aging | Secretary-General’s Scientific Advisory Board

Awesome to see the United Nations highlight the biology of aging.

It was great to contribute - together with other colleagues - to this brief by the UN Secretary-General’s Scientific Advisory Board.

www.un.org/scientific-a...

17.06.2025 15:59 — 👍 5 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0

Our new review explores how microfluidic systems, inc. organ-on-chip models, can improve our understanding of aging and age-related diseases, and help the discovery of rejuvenation therapies.

A great collaboration with @ucl.ac.uk et al.

advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

13.06.2025 20:46 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

A transcriptome-based human universal senescence index (hUSI) robustly predicts cellular senescence under various conditions - Nature Aging Wang et al. present the human universal senescence index (hUSI), a robust transcriptome-based tool that accurately predicts cellular senescence across diverse conditions, offering insights into aging ...

A transcriptome-based human universal senescence index (hUSI) robustly predicts cellular senescence under various conditions
www.nature.com/articles/s43...

01.06.2025 17:19 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Combining two drugs (trametinib and rapamycin) resulted in one of the greatest life-extensions observed in mice - 27% (males) and 29% (females).

Both are anticancer drugs and treatment reduced tumor load, though other benefits were observed (eg reduced inflammation).

30.05.2025 18:20 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

How aging causes osteoarthritis: An evolutionary physiology perspective Late-life diseases result from the poorly understood process of senescence (aging), which is largely genetically determined. According to a recently p…

Fascinating work by David Gems @ucl.ac.uk on osteoarthritis (OA) from a programmatic perspective 🤯

His framework posits that OA is caused by programmatic changes that prime chondrocytes for futile program activation, a form of antagonistic pleiotropy.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

28.05.2025 20:16 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

High protein intake causes gene-length-dependent transcriptional decline, shortens lifespan and accelerates ageing in progeroid DNA repair-deficient mice - npj Metabolic Health and Disease npj Metabolic Health and Disease - High protein intake causes gene-length-dependent transcriptional decline, shortens lifespan and accelerates ageing in progeroid DNA repair-deficient mice

High protein intake causes gene-length-dependent transcriptional decline, shortens lifespan and accelerates ageing in progeroid DNA repair-deficient mice
www.nature.com/articles/s44...

26.05.2025 20:13 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

The pace and shape of ant ageing Ants have been proposed as good models to study ageing and the effects of extrinsic mortality because of their long lifespans and plasticity of ageing within species. We discuss how age-dependent ext...

The pace and shape of ant ageing
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

21.05.2025 11:15 — 👍 4 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 0

Sex-specific insights into drug-induced lifespan extension and weight loss in mice - npj Aging npj Aging - Sex-specific insights into drug-induced lifespan extension and weight loss in mice

NEW paper 🚨

We updated the mouse data in DrugAge to reveal sex-related differences in lifespan and weight effects.

We found that, mostly in males, drug-induced life extension in mice correlates with weight loss.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

20.05.2025 15:42 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Fellowship Academy for Medicine and Health To enhance our support for both internal and external applicants to prestigious personal awards, the College of Medicine and Health has established a dedicated College Fellowship Academy.

Would you like to start your lab? The Birmingham Springboard Fellowships provide 2 years of funding to allow you to develop your independent research and apply for external fellowships.

Come join us @unibirmingham.bsky.social !

Deadline: Sep 3, 2025.
www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/act...

19.05.2025 19:15 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Looking forward to the GIMM Festival on “Aging and Longevity” in Lisbon, September 4-6.

Please join us in beautiful Lisbon to explore the future of aging through science.

For more information and to register:
gimm.pt/pt-pt/gimm-f...

15.05.2025 21:04 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 1

If Decision Letters were cars

08.05.2025 12:37 — 👍 925 🔁 106 💬 23 📌 47

Joao Pedro Magalhaes

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