Aging

Recent articles

Tiger in a brain scanner.

Lions and tigers and bears: Long-lived zoo animals offer a promising venue to study mental health and neurodegenerative disorders

These animals’ lifestyles often mirror those of people, making them a more relevant milieu than lab mice for determining how environmental factors influence mental health and cognitive decline. Studying them could improve animal welfare in the process.

By Christine J. Charvet
17 March 2025 | 5 min read
Research image of gene expression in cells in the third ventricle of the hypothalamus of young and aged mice.

Age-related brain changes in mice strike hypothalamus ‘hot spot’

Neuronal and non-neuronal cells throughout the brain also express genes—particularly those related to neuronal structure and immune function—differently in aged mice, according to a new atlas.

By Angie Voyles Askham
8 January 2025 | 6 min listen
Six different neurons.

Early trajectory of Alzheimer’s tracked in single-cell brain atlases

Inflammation in glia and the loss of certain inhibitory cells may kick off a disease cascade decades before diagnosis.

By Angie Voyles Askham
23 October 2024 | 8 min read
Photo of the U.S. Capitol Building.

In updated U.S. autism bill, Congress calls for funding boost, expanded scope

The current Autism CARES Act sunsets in late September.

By Rachel Zamzow
5 September 2024 | 6 min listen

Explore more from The Transmitter

ABCD Study omits gender-identity data from latest release

The removal counteracts the goals of the longitudinal study by “pretending that some aspects of adolescent brain development don’t exist,” says sex differences researcher Nicola Grissom.

By Calli McMurray
11 July 2025 | 4 min read
Leafcutter ants carrying leaves.

Neuropeptides reprogram social roles in leafcutter ants

The mechanisms that control the labor roles of ants may also be conserved in naked mole rats, a new study shows.

By Shaena Montanari
11 July 2025 | 7 min listen
Illustration of overlapping, multi-colored human head silhouettes.

Perspectives from the field: Opinions in autism research

This collection of Spectrum articles from the past 12 months highlights expert perspectives on autism’s heritability and its link to biological sex, the value of transdiagnostic frameworks, and the field’s future, among other topics.

By Daisy Yuhas
10 July 2025 | 3 min read