A study initiated by a University of Arizona Comprehensive Cancer Center physician-scientist defined for the first time how loss of the Y chromosome in male immune cells negatively affects immune system function, which may explain why loss of Y is associated with lower cancer survival rates. The paper “Concurrent loss of the Y chromosome in cancer and T cells impacts outcome,” was published today in Nature.

A group of bat viruses closely related to the deadly Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) could be one small mutation away from being capable of spilling over into human populations and potentially causing the next pandemic.

A team of international researchers has developed a new biological age “clock” that estimates how well someone is aging, not just how “old” they or their various organs might be. The IC Clock, which is described in a study in Nature Aging, measures intrinsic capacity (IC), the sum of six key functions that determine healthy aging: mobility, cognition, mental health, vision, hearing and nutrition/vitality.