Neurons in an area of the brain responsible for memory were significantly larger in SuperAgers compared to cognitively average peers, individuals with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease and even individuals 20 to 30 years younger than SuperAgers — who are aged 80 years and older, reports a new study. The study of was the first to show that these individuals carry a unique biological signature that comprises larger and healthier neurons in the entorhinal cortex that are relatively void of tau tangles.

An obscure family of viruses, already endemic in wild African primates and known to cause fatal Ebola-like symptoms in some monkeys, is “poised for spillover” to humans, according to new University of Colorado Boulder research.

A newly identified set of molecules alleviated pain in mice while avoiding the sedating affect that limits the use of opiates, according to a new study led by researchers at UC San Francisco. The molecules act on the same receptor as clonidine and dexmedetomidine—drugs commonly used in hospitals as sedatives—but are chemically unrelated to them and may not be addictive.

Researchers show for the first time that the neurohormone oxytocin has a previously unsuspected function in both zebrafish and human cell cultures: it stimulates mature cells in the epicardium of the heart to become stem cells, which can replace heart cells lost after damage. This discovery could one day be used to stimulate the regeneration of the human heart after a heart attack.