Latest paper: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Dietary restriction is evolutionary conserved on the phenotypic and mechanistic level - EMBO Reports

The anti-ageing response to Dietary Restriction (DR) is thought to be mechanistically ancient, reasoning from its phenotypic conservation. However, DR is implemented differently across species and evi...

link.springer.com

Latest paper. We studied ATF4 in ageing in the fly. We find in contrast to previous suggestions that ATF4 suppression rather than activation extends lifespan. The study was largely conducted in an MSc project by Miriam Götz who showed an exceptional drive for science. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

We also show higher body temperatures were selected for - again this was independent of growth.

Thermal physiology meets quantitative genetics - our new paper explores the drivers of body temperature in nestling sparrows #ornithology @jevbio.bsky.social academic.oup.com/jeb/article/...

Separating the genetic and environmental drivers of body temperature during the development of endothermy in an altricial bird

Abstract. When altricial birds hatch, they are unable to regulate their own temperature, but by the time they fledge they are thermally independent. Early-

academic.oup.com

What do the naked mole rat and bowhead whale (lives to ~200 years) have in common to explain their remarkable longevity? Enhanced DNA repair www.nature.com/articles/s41... erictopol.substack.com/p/a-long-awa...

Evidence for improved DNA repair in long-lived bowhead whale - Nature

Analysis of the longest-lived mammal, the bowhead whale, reveals an improved ability to repair DNA breaks, mediated by high levels of cold-inducible RNA-binding protein.  &nbs...

nature.com

Latest paper. Super interesting comparative biology on ageing in the bowhead whale. www.nature.com/articles/s41... Congrats to Denis Firsanov, Max Zacher, Jan Vijg, Andrei Seluanov, Vera Gorbunova, et al, for this work. Thanks for including us in this work and also Dan Hayman (excellent postdoc).

Evidence for improved DNA repair in long-lived bowhead whale - Nature

Analysis of the longest-lived mammal, the bowhead whale, reveals an improved ability to repair DNA breaks, mediated by high levels of cold-inducible RNA-binding protein.  &nbs...

nature.com

Come and study Biology at the University of Sheffield (UK)! We cover every aspect of biology and offer specialised degrees with plenty of module choice and research. Feel free to contact me should you want any information. A brilliant video made by our students: www.youtube.com/watch?v=syup...

Student guide to studying Biosciences | University of Sheffield

YouTube video by The University of Sheffield

youtube.com

Please help spread the word about our inaugural public lecture on Wednesday. Sign up and if you are in the ageing field it’s a great opp for your family to finally understand what you do! 😀 Thanks for your support 🙏 bsra.org.uk/events/bsra-...

BSRA Online Public Seminar Series - BSRA

In our new Understanding Ageing: Meet the Scientists series, we’ve invited experts in their field to talk about their research and what it means for each of us as we get older. You don’t need any scie...

bsra.org.uk

Latest exciting work from me and @mirresimons.bsky.social (and the first bit of data from my @vivensa.bsky.social ECR Fellowship) now out as a preprint, looking at effects of knocking down individual spliceosome components on lifespan in vivo: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Knockdown of the fly spliceosome component Rbp1(orthologue of SRSF1) extends lifespan

Biological regulation is a highly intricate process and involves many layers of complexity even at the RNA level. Alternative splicing is crucial in the regulation of which components of a protein-cod...

biorxiv.org

We present a novel idea of how aging evolves. This idea was developed together with Marc Tatar, and it was such a joy to think about. I think this is one of the best ideas I worked on for a while, ..or ever.. ;): arxiv.org/abs/2509.15911

The evolution of asymmetrical regulation of physiology is central to aging

The evolutionary biology of aging is fundamental to understanding the mechanisms of aging and how to develop anti-aging treatments. Thus far most evolutionary theory concerns the genetics of aging wit...

arxiv.org

Lifelong restriction of dietary valine has sex-specific benefits for health and lifespan in mice www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Lifelong restriction of dietary valine has sex-specific benefits for health and lifespan in mice

Dietary protein is a key regulator of metabolic health in humans and rodents. Many of the benefits of protein restriction are mediated by reduced consumption of dietary branched-chain amino acids (BCA...

biorxiv.org

#mTOR research field never ceases to amaze, what a tour de force! 👇🏼 mTORC1 senses glutamine and other amino acids through GCN2 | The EMBO Journal www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

mTORC1 senses glutamine and other amino acids through GCN2 | The EMBO Journal

imageimageDuring starvation, individual amino acid levels are thought to be relayed via distinct metabolic sensors, but how mTORC1 senses glutamine remains unclear. This study finds that GCN2 kinase acts as a unifying module in suppression of ...

embopress.org

New preprint. ATF4 activation is thought to lead to longer lifespans. However, our study shows that suppression rather than activation extends lifespan in the fly. New Qs: how we can target ATF4 or its downstream targets to gain targeted longevity benefits. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

A huge project has analysed more than 1,000 claims about the immunity of Drosophila fruit flies in scientific papers published over some 50 years go.nature.com/4lxhwJB

Giant study finds a research field that’s mostly reproducible

Researchers assessed more than 1,000 results from fruit-fly immunity research published between 1959 and 2011. The majority of findings look verifiable.

go.nature.com

Proudly presenting Simon’s @simonsterson.bsky.social‬ paper on asymmetric apportioning of old mitochondria biasing intestinal stem cells for the Paneth cell linage through aKG-dependent metabolism @naturemetabolism.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s42... @helsinki.fi @metastem.bsky.social 🧵1/8

Old mitochondria regulate niche renewal via α-ketoglutarate metabolism in stem cells - Nature Metabolism

Andersson et al. show that intestinal stem cells enriched for old mitochondria are metabolically distinct and have enhanced ability to regenerate the epithelial niche.

nature.com

www.aging-us.com/article/206258

Peto’s paradox’s relevance is off the scale | Aging

Aging | doi:10.18632/aging.206258. Mirre J.P. Simons

aging-us.com

If using Bloomigton #Drosophila Stock Center stocks, pls. acknowledge them & their NIH funding (P40 OD018537). Papers listing this no. are being harvested as evidence. We massively depend on the @bdsc.bsky.social & they need our support in these dire times! @flybase.bsky.social @fly-eds.bsky.social

Our latest preprint…Adrien Franchet, Yuhong Jin et al @crick.ac.uk show that circulating glutamine drives brain sparing during nutrient restriction. Great collab with labs of Yaël Grosjean and Ian Gilmore. #metabolism #Drosophila #neuralstemcells www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

"More and more people are worried about the long-term effects of contact sports on the brain. In football (soccer), studies have found that repeatedly heading the ball can lead to memory problems and an increased risk of serious brain diseases." theconversation.com/... 1/4

Is the risk of brain injury from contact sports being overstated by the media?

How to understand the risks of head injuries in sport – beyond the alarming headlines.

theconversation.com

Version of record in eLife on the trade-off between reproduction and survival (ageing) in birds. Well done Lucy! Conclusions: Limited evidence for trade-offs. Constraints appear in between-species variance only. Trade-offs may not be inherent to ageing. elifesciences.org/articles/87018

Lovely film about Tim Birkhead's long-term study of Guillemots on Skomer. More than half a century of study of this population: this kind of continuity critical for understanding vitality of these important populations. besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... vimeo.com/1063680641/2...

The Birdman of Skomer

With English captions.

vimeo.com

Latest preprint. We tested the idea that dietary restriction (DR) is an ancient response. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Across Drosophila the lifespan phenotype and the transcriptomic response to DR are conserved. Yet, many genes were Diptera (fly) specific. Mechanisms may not be conserved…

Latest. Dan tested the importance of Drosophila immune cells by ablating or expanding them using conditional genetics. Turns out no lifespan phenotype, perhaps because there is compensation within the immune cell lineage. More exciting biology to discover. journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...

Expansion of Drosophila haemocytes using a conditional GeneSwitch driver affects larval haemocyte function, but does not modulate adult lifespan or survival after severe infection

Macrophages are responsible for diverse and fundamental functions in vertebrates. Drosophila blood cells (haemocytes) are dominated by cells bearing a striking homology to vertebrate macrophages (plas...

journals.biologists.com

Undersea rewilding initiative to restore a kelp forest in West Sussex is celebrating amazing results for marine biodiversity. Rewilding is needed just as much at sea as on land. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Kelp forest project in West Sussex having 'remarkable results'

The rewilding project off the West Sussex coast is celebrating its fourth anniversary.

bbc.com

Don't forget to register & submit an abstract for #FusionAging25 in Malta this October! ☀️ ECR grants are also now live💰so visit the conference website for more information on how to apply: bit.ly/4bLiSw6

The reckless termination of grants at NIH continues www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

🚨New preprint alert!!! We show using #Celegans that mothers control the #ribosome levels of their offspring depending on their diet. Pioneered by fantastic Sigma Pradhan (not yet on 🟦). #worms biorxiv.org/content/10.1.... 🧵

Intergenerational control of ribosomes under dietary restriction

biorxiv.org

Just because they confirmed RFK Jr today, I am resharing this good news: No cervical cancer cases detected in vaccinated women following HPV immunisation publichealthscotland.scot/news/2024/ja...

Thanks to the more than *1100* members of the scientific community who have signed the letter to insist that the Royal Society remains true to values that we all hold dear but that Musk FRS has ridden roughshod over. Please keep signing & sharing. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Open letter to the President of the Royal Society – time to stand up for your values

If you wish to show your support for the letter below regarding apparent inaction by the Royal Society in the face of breaches of its code of conduct by Elon Musk FRS, please sign below. I invite anyo...

docs.google.com