Senescence articles from across Nature Portfolio

Nucleolar enlargement during aging alters the biophysical properties of nucleoli, which allows entry of DNA repair machinery that is normally excluded. In budding yeast this event triggers catastrophic global genome instability due to aberrant ribosomal DNA recombination, and imminently ends the yeast’s mitotic lifespan.

Animal experiments and osteoblast and osteoclast co-culture systems show IGF-1 synonymous mutation c.258 A < G ameliorates senile osteoporosis.

Measuring reproductive aging in humans remains challenging. In this Perspective, Wang et al. summarize biomarkers for reproductive aging in clinical use, discuss age-linked molecular changes related to reproductive aging that could potentially serve as future biomarkers and highlight unresolved challenges and upcoming opportunities in the field.

Nucleolar enlargement during aging alters the biophysical properties of nucleoli, which allows entry of DNA repair machinery that is normally excluded. In budding yeast this event triggers catastrophic global genome instability due to aberrant ribosomal DNA recombination, and imminently ends the yeast’s mitotic lifespan.

A study by Mao, Zhang, Zhuang and colleagues defines a specific class of endogenous retroviruses that are upregulated with age and in cellular senescence by the stress-induced transcription factor ATF3. The expression of endogenous retroviral elements has implications for the development of inflammation that may drive the onset of aging pathologies.

A study shows that senescence induced in the liver can spread systemically to precipitate multi-organ dysfunction. The work identifies TGFβ signalling as a key mediator of this transmission, suggesting therapeutic avenues to prevent multi-organ failure in severe liver diseases.

Senescent cells in the amputated head of the cnidarian Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus drive the reprogramming of somatic cells into pluripotent stem cells, which are required for full body regeneration.

Removal of different types of senescent cells can be either beneficial or detrimental to health, with potential consequences to senotherapies.