In this issue, a study by Trapp et al. introduces scAge, a computational framework that enables epigenetic age estimation at single-cell resolution. The new method can track the aging process in individual cells and its heterogeneity in tissue. Notably, scAge revealed a natural cellular rejuvenation event occurring during early embryogenesis. The issue cover features a cell, whose genome blends into the outline of a clock — its hands, denoting age, are driven by the CpG methylation patterns on the DNA.

See Trapp et al. and the accompanying News & Views by K. Lenhard Rudolph

In this issue, a study by Chan and colleagues longitudinally examined the decline in the organization of brain networks that normally occurs in older adults. They found that it varies in relation to an individual’s educational attainment and that it is correlated to future dementia severity independently of Alzheimer’s disease genetic-risk or pathology. Our issue cover shows the superimposition of a map of Saint Louis in the United States featuring color-coded education-level census data used in the study on top the representation of a brain’s system segregation map in the form of a spring-embedded graph.

See Chan et al. and the accompanying News & Views by Jorge Sepulcre

In this issue, a study by Taubes et al. identified bumetanide as a potential drug for apoE4-related Alzheimer’s disease (AD) through computational drug repurposing. The effectiveness of bumetanide was then validated in AD mouse models and using real-world health record databases. Our issue cover shows a variety of different medications, referring to the initial screening and testing process that was conducted in this study to identify a suitable drug for repurposing to treat AD.

See Taubes et al. and the accompanying News & Views by Li and Zhao

In this issue, a study from the LaBarge group shows that histologically normal tissue from young women who carry a germline mutation that confers a high risk of developing breast cancer show several signs of accelerated aging, such as the loss of cell lineage markers. Our issue cover features an immunofluorescent image of a mammary tissue section from a woman who carries a high-risk BRCA1 mutation, showing alterations in the proportions of canonical cell types (as defined by molecular markers of cellular identity) that are indicative of a loss of lineage fidelity.

See Shalabi et al. and the accompanying News & Views by Caruso and Tlsty

In this issue, Childs, van Deursen and colleagues demonstrate that senescent cells contribute to the degeneration of the protective fibrous cap in atherosclerotic plaques by neutralizing IGF-1 through the release of IGFBP3, which leads to a reduction in intrinsic cap repair mechanisms involving vascular smooth muscle cells. Senolysis, represented on the cover image as a protective hat on top of a plaque, prevents these deleterious effects and restores cap thickness.

See Childs et al. and the accompanying News and Views by Kabir & Greif

The July cover features artwork by an Indigenous Australian artist, Danielle Burford, who describes the work as “a tribute to one of our oldest living reptiles, the green sea turtle, elders of the sea, who carry with them the wisdom of ages. A journey of life connected to the sea and knowledge passed down through generations, as is our culture”. The artwork was selected for inclusion in the project report Sharing the Wisdom of Our Elders to represent the themes identified in the Koori Growing Old Well Study (https://www.neura.edu.au/sharingthewisdom/). Two of the project’s investigators from Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) have penned a World View article on aging well among Indigenous Australians, which is featured in this issue of Nature Aging.

See World View

In this issue, a new Resource article from the Artyomov group documents and compares the human peripheral immune cell subset and plasma proteome characteristics of normal aging, moderate and severe COVID-19 disease, and non-COVID-19 lung diseases. The cover design features paper artwork depicting human lungs infected with SARS-CoV-2 and a variety of blood cell types as profiled in this study.

See Arthur et al. and the accompanying News and Views by Montgomery et al.

In this issue, a cohort study led by Xu Gao reports the negative impact of short-term exposure to air pollution on cognitive function of older men, and that such impact is lower among individuals pre-scribed nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The cover design illustrates the impact of air pollution on cognitive health by depicting common sources of air pollution (for example, air and surface traffic, power plants and factories) and a central cooling tower emitting a smoke cloud in the shape of the human brain.

Using genetic and demographic data from the UK Biobank, Donertas and colleagues found that diseases that have similar age-of-onset profiles are also genetically more similar, suggesting common etiological roots. Our cover image depicts three of these age-related disease clusters as groups of leaves of distinct colors on the three main branches of a tree. The colors of the leaves evoke the different human life stages at which these three groups of diseases start to appear.

See Donertas et al.

In this issue, a study led by Andreas Keller as part of the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative reports the longitudinal profiling of circulating small noncoding RNAs (sncRNAs) in the blood of patients with Parkinson's and identifies several microRNAs as potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. The cover design illustrates disease progression as deterioration in the hand drawing of sncRNA structures and shows some of the blood cell types associated with sncRNA dysregulation in Parkinson’s.

See Kern et al. and the accompanying News & Views by Rosenthal et al.

Ageism, a form of social discrimination targeted specifically at older adults, is pervasive in our society, but its negative impact on the well-being of older persons is rarely recognized and its causes and consequences are not sufficiently understood. In this issue, we present a collection of review and opinion articles on the theme of ageism that all speak to the need and ways to create an anti-ageist future. Our cover image demonstrates the fallacy that older adults form a monolithic group with regards to interests and capabilities, and reinforces a sense of optimism for achieving a positive attitude toward old age.

See Editorial

The cover image of Nature Aging’s first issue illustrates the notion that aging concerns everyone, pointing to the need for social unity and joined research endeavors to solve issues and seize opportunities associated with human aging. Our first issue features research and opinion articles authored by biologists, clinicians, social scientists and civil society and industry leaders that reflect the breadth of our interests, from the intricate details of the core biology of aging to public health and societal questions associated with population aging.

See Editorial