Every Rosh Hashanah, annual reports are released focused on birth rates, the average number of children per family, and other population growth data. However, there’s another side to these statistics: experiences of involuntary childlessness, in which people who wish to be parents are unable to for medical, social, or institutional reasons. A new study reveals that these experiences are far more widespread than commonly thought, especially among the LGBTQ+ community. The researchers note that an international comparison of this phenomenon is important, as countries vary widely in the degree of encouragement they offer for childbearing, the assistance they provide to prospective parents, and the barriers they place that can impede the path to parenthood. The current study compared responses from participants in the United States with those in Israel.

This study uncovers a novel role of RNA G-quadruplex (rG4) structures in regulating translation and cellular senescence. By integrating ribosome profiling and rG4-RIP sequencing, the researchers reveal that rG4 structures within coding regions cause ribosome pausing, disrupt protein homeostasis, and accelerate senescence. The RNA helicase DHX9 is identified as a key factor that unwinds rG4 structures and maintains translational balance. These findings highlight rG4 stabilization as a potential driver of aging and age-related diseases, offering new therapeutic opportunities by targeting rG4 dynamics.