The authors report whole-blood RNA-seq for 4,871 samples from 1,570 participants in the Parkinson Progression Marker Initiative. This Resource documents blood-based transcriptomic changes associated with PD, including early increases in neutrophil gene expression with a decrease in lymphocytes.

Circulating factors play an important role in tissue aging. Here, the authors show that serum EV subpopulations and cargoes remodel with age and that EVs from young mouse serum rejuvenate aged skeletal muscle.

Cutler et al. found that age predicted individuals’ likelihood to engage in prosocial behaviors such as social distancing during COVID-19 and charitable donations. Older adults across the world were more willing to help but also demonstrated stronger in-group preferences, donating less to international charities.

A systematic review examining evidence from 32 studies across five countries on associations between care home ownership and COVID-19 found that for-profit care homes were linked to worse COVID-19 outcomes (infections and mortality) compared to non-profit and public sector homes.

Transcription factors control cell identity and function in health, disease and aging. Here the authors identify age-associated changes of transcriptional regulatory networks in single cells, revealing cell-type and tissue-type-independent patterns in key pathways, including circadian rhythm, antigen processing, collagen processing and inflammation.

This study shows that during the first wave of SARS-CoV-2 infection in England, residents of long-term care facilities who survived infection developed a robust and stable immunity against the virus that did not negatively impact responses to other seasonal viruses.

Epigenetic clocks can measure biological aging, but the relationship between epigenetic age and other hallmarks of aging is incompletely understood. Here the authors show that epigenetic age is associated with nutrient sensing, mitochondria activity and stem cell depletion but distinct from cellular senescence, telomere attrition and genomic instability.

This study shows that the cellular pathway that removes dysfunctional mitochondria, mitophagy, becomes impaired in the aged fly brain. Inducing mitophagy in the aging brain prolongs health and lifespan, while slowing both muscle aging and gut aging.

The authors developed a deep learning-based model to estimate the brain age gap based on metabolic and structural imaging data in cognitively normal individuals and in patients with dementia. An older brain age was associated with Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers and was predictive of future cognitive decline.

The authors show that FOXM1 transcription factor transgene induction in Hutchison–Gilford progeria and naturally aged mice significantly extends their lifespan via restoring the loss of Foxm1 function with age that contributes to the aging phenotypes.

Nature Aging speaks with Steve Horvath, biogerontologist, biostatistician and developer of epigenetic clocks, about the Mammalian Methylation Consortium, the construction of a pan-mammalian clock, and epigenetic age measurements for translational and clinical studies. Horvath reflects on his career and the fortunate circumstance that started his exploration of methylation changes in aging.

Cancer is a disease of aging, but it is rarely studied in aged animal models and older adults are often insufficiently represented in cancer clinical trials. To further our understanding of cancer and find better treatments, more research is needed on the role of biological aging in cancer and clinical trials must enroll larger numbers of older patients.