Age associated differences in the composition and function of yak milk - Nature

AcknowledgementsWe thank Yukiko Banzai, Yuko Ishiyama, Asami Ogawa, and Yingda Xiao of the University of Tokyo for their assistance with animal experiments and laboratory work. We are grateful to Yuriko Sakamaki of the Ochanomizu Research Facility, Institute of Science Tokyo, for her technical support with electron microscopy sample preparation and imaging. FundingThis work was supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Japan [grant Nos. 24K19023 to S. B. and 22K08174 to H. T.]; Sakakibara Heart Foundation Cardiovascular Research Program 2023 (to S. B.); Japan Foundation for Applied Enzymology (to S. B.). I. K. was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (S) of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and by the Japan Agency for Medical Research, Development (JP20ek0210152, JP18gm6210010, JP20ek0210141, JP20ek0109440, JP20ek0109487, JP17gm0810013, JP18km0405209, JP21ek0109543, JP21ek0109569, JP21tm0724601, JP22ama121016, JP22ek0210172, JP22ek0210167, JP22bm1123011). Author informationAuthor notesThese authors contributed equally: Satoshi Bujo, Takayuki Fujiwara, Masayuki Kubota.

Each time you eat a juicy pomegranate, your gut bacteria can produce a natural metabolite called urolithin A. This little-known compound is making a big splash. In recent years, scientists have paid close attention to urolithin A because it seems to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-tumor, and anti-aging properties. Initial evidence in humans even suggests that urolithin A can help the body remove aged or damaged parts of our cells, thereby improving their overall health. Now, for the first time, researchers at King's College London (KCL) have found evidence that urolithin A can activate a protein that plays a key role in heart health. In mouse models with stiff and failing hearts, urolithin A improved measures of heart function by as much as 80 percent compared to untreated animals, according to a press release from KCL. The findings are published in Science Advances, with financial support from the British Heart Foundation. The results have scientists hopeful that urolithin A could be a previously unidentified treatment option for a common form of heart failure.

image: Population structure of Sarcoptes scabiei inferred from genome-wide nuclear single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data. (A) ADMIXTURE analysis showing estimated ancestry proportions for 83 quality-filtered sample-level datasets from diverse host species, assigned to seven ancestry clusters (K1–K7). (B) Principal component analysis (PCA) of genome-wide SNP data. Each point represents one sample-level dataset and is coloured according to its ADMIXTURE cluster assignment. (C) Phylogenetic relationships inferred from high-quality, linkage-pruned nuclear SNPs. Each bar in panel A represents one dataset derived from an individual mite or a pool of mites. Colours indicate estimated ancestry proportions, not transmission routes. Credit: Fang Fang, Pasi K. Korhonen, Siyi Huang, Barbara Moroni, Luca Rossi, Anna R. Molinar Min, Zhijun Hou, Vito Colella, Qingyou Liu, Jacques Guillot, Robin B. Gasser.

Yukie, in chair, and Junie enjoy a warm fire on a cold Fairbanks day in November 2024. (Photo by Sara Wilbur) Note: After finally cleaning my stovepipe last weekend, it feels like woodstove season at my cabin can officially (and safely) begin. Carla Helfferich wrote this wood power-focused Alaska Science Forum column on Oct. 3, 1990. — Sara WilburA strange thing happens at my house every October: the woodstove seems to get bigger. It’s been an inconspicuous little black thing in the corner of the living room all summer, but come snowfall, it’s a brute right out in the middle. And it looks hungry. If there’s any science whatsoever in that observation, it’s psychology. Important objects may be perceived as larger than they really are, and that stove certainly grows in importance as temperatures decline. Other sciences apply more exactly to heating with wood.