Research

People with shorter telomeres – protective caps on the ends of chromosomes found in white blood cells – may be at greater risk of stroke, dementia and depression in later life, new research suggests. But individuals with healthy lifestyle habits appear to face no added risk, despite having this biological marker of ageing. The study [...]

A new way to interpret blood pressure readings taken from the ankle could help people unable to use traditional arm cuffs, including stroke survivors and those with limb differences. The method, developed using statistical modelling, estimates arm blood pressure from ankle measurements more accurately than existing approaches. It aims to address a significant care gap [...]

Semaglutide and tirzepatide, injectable medications prescribed for obesity, are producing smaller weight loss in everyday clinical use than in trials, mainly due to early treatment discontinuation and lower maintenance doses, a large study has found. Researchers tracking 7,881 adults with severe obesity found a notable gap between the weight loss achieved in randomised trials and [...]

People with shorter telomeres — a sign of accelerated biological ageing — are more likely to develop stroke, dementia or late-life depression, but that risk appears to disappear in those who maintain a healthy lifestyle. A large-scale study has found that individuals with short telomeres who follow good health habits, such as eating well and [...]

Cycling in mid-life may significantly reduce the risk of developing dementia, according to a study involving nearly 500,000 adults in the UK. Researchers found those who primarily travelled by bike were 19 per cent less likely to develop any form of dementia compared with those who relied on more sedentary transport such as cars, buses [...]

Teenagers who go to bed earlier, spend less time awake in bed, and maintain regular sleep patterns at age 15 are more likely to show stronger cardiovascular health by age 22, new research suggests. The study found that adolescents with better sleep efficiency and lower variability in sleep and wake times had higher heart health [...]

Children diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) appear to show signs of accelerated biological ageing, according to new findings that could reshape understanding of the disease’s long-term effects. Researchers studying DNA from children and teenagers with MS found patterns indicating they were biologically older than their healthy counterparts, despite being the same age in years. The [...]

A Cambridge-based biotech firm has identified a novel single-gene target that may rejuvenate cells without triggering cancer, potentially enabling safer anti-ageing therapies. The discovery, known as SB000, is claimed to reverse signs of cellular ageing across multiple cell types—without activating the harmful biological pathways associated with other methods. Shift Bioscience, which is developing therapies for [...]

A new blood test for Alzheimer’s disease can accurately identify people with early symptoms by examining two key proteins in blood plasma. The test, which has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), showed 95 per cent sensitivity in picking up people with memory problems—meaning it correctly identified the vast majority of [...]

A home device that scans a person’s feet as soon as they get out of bed in the morning could help keep people with heart failure out of hospital, according to new research. More than a million people in the UK have heart failure, which—when not fully managed by medication or lifestyle changes—can lead to [...]