What would it be like to be stronger for longer? A new study from researchers at Duke explores how regular exercise not only keeps your muscles healthy but also helps them age with grace.

As muscles get older, a gene called DEAF1 [def-one] rises to the occasion. As its levels increase, a growth pathway, called mTORC1 [em-tor-see-one], tumbles into overdrive. The delicate balance between protein production and protein removal falls to the wayside; muscle weakening is hastened. Excess activity in mTORC1 means muscles get confused, building new proteins and forgetting to remove damaged ones. Eventually, there are too many lemons, and muscles become stressed. There is a gradual loss of strength.

In a healthy individual, exercise helps to undo this imbalance by bringing back proteins that “check” DEAF1 levels at the door, lowering them back down to acceptable levels. This acts like a reset button, supporting your muscles’ ability to keep clearing out deadweight and build themselves back.

Age-related muscle loss is a common issue strength training attempts to combat. Researchers hope this study, along with further work, might prompt new ways to prevent or treat muscle health that declines over time. Now that we know DEAF1 is a vital regulator of the muscle regeneration process, researchers believe future work could be even better equipped to find new ways of shielding muscles from some of the harsher impacts of aging.

Importantly, researchers noticed some cases where older muscles did not recover as well, which would explain why certain older adults reap more reward from exercise than others. But evidence still points to benefits outweighing sitting on the couch.

Who among us has not turned to a vice when under an onslaught of stress? Whether it’s a pint of ice cream, endless video games or a glass of wine, we all have our means of coping.

Some of them, however, might leave an impact far beyond the intended stress relief — and one that is markedly more negative. Especially in the case of alcohol.

According to a study from scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, relying on alcohol to manage stress in early adulthood might result in lasting negative impacts to the brain. And no, they do not ebb with decades of sobriety.

In a study using mouse models, researchers found that mice would return to drinking when stressed even after long periods of cessation. There was little to no difference in ability to learn between mice that drank heavily and mice that drank lightly. But other changes emerged.

An area of their brains called the locus coeruleus [sih-roo-lee-us], responsible for thinking and decision-making, remained active in mice that tended to consume alcohol instead of switching off as needed. This reduced their ability to solve problems.

Most notably, middle-aged mice who once had a heavy drinking habit demonstrated reduced mental flexibility, or the ability to act quickly in new or changing situations. And, though further research is needed before we can apply these results to humans, it’s worth second-guessing that drink if it’s your only method of relief.

Into every life a little stress must fall. It’s better to find a more sustainable means of managing it, and ideally one that leaves your body feeling better, rather than worse. But did we mention the ice cream?

Collagen is the most prevalent protein in our bodies. It’s in our hair, skin, fingernails, bones, blood vessels and intestines, of all places.

As we age, our bodies begin to produce less collagen, leaving our skin less elastic and our bones more brittle.

For many years, collagen supplements, derived from the remains of animals, like cows, pigs, chickens or fish, have been popular with those trying to maintain a youthful look.

But more recently, these supplements have been marketed for everything from strengthening joints to boosting athletic performance.

A new study set out to pin down what collagen can do and what it cannot.

Researchers in the United Kingdom conducted the most comprehensive study of collagen to date, involving at least 8,000 supplement-taking participants from around the world.

Here is what the study found that collagen can do, if taken for a sustained period: It can make your skin look and feel more hydrated. And it can help relieve some joint stiffness from osteoarthritis.

To a lesser degree, taking extra collagen can offer modest improvements in muscle mass and muscle structure.

But if you are taking it in hopes of achieving a new personal best race time or to improve your vertical leap, the researchers say you will probably be disappointed. Collagen also will not help you bounce back faster from strenuous exercise, reduce muscle soreness or improve your tendons in any way.

They also noted that collagen won’t lower cholesterol, blood pressure or blood sugar. Nor can it rebuild tooth enamel or regrow gum tissue.

Taking collagen supplements may do you good. Just be sure to take claims about them with a big grain of salt.

While you were sleeping, your muscles knit themselves back together and your metabolism whirred along. Now, researchers from California are exploring the system behind sleep and human growth hormone — two factors responsible for some of slumber’s most important benefits.

The study looked at how mouse brains reacted to light stimulation. These mammals tend to sleep only a little bit at a time, helping researchers better observe changes in their growth hormone activity through different sleep and wake cycles. Growth hormones juggle a myriad of responsibilities, including muscle and bone construction and fat burning.

Research has previously shown these levels peak during sleep. Thanks to circuity tracing techniques, the team pinpointed how, exactly, the brain coordinates this process.

It starts with a feedback loop that toes the line between wakefulness and sleep. As the growth hormone increases during the latter, it triggers the locus coeruleus [sih-roo-lee-us], an area of the brainstem that encourages alertness. When this activity reaches a breaking point — or should we say waking point — the locus coeruleus begins encouraging drowsiness instead.

In short: Sleep is the driver of growth hormone release, and this hormone, in turn, regulates wakefulness. Getting too little sleep lowers growth hormone levels, but too much of it shifts the brain toward wakefulness. A balance between the two keeps muscle growth and metabolic health in check, and the locus coeruleus’s part points to the possibility of the circuit affecting cognitive functions like attention.

Who are we to argue with another reason to hit the hay?

An achy knee or hip joint’s thin or nonexistent cartilage growing back sounds like something a person facing joint-replacement surgery might daydream about.

But researchers led by Stanford University say they have developed a new treatment that could make such a thing possible.

The treatment targets a protein linked to aging. It restored lost knee cartilage in older mice and helped prevent arthritis from developing after serious joint injuries.

In other tests, human cartilage samples taken during knee replacement surgeries showed similar signs of regeneration when given the treatment.

Here’s how it works: 15-PGDH is a “gerozyme,” [JERR-uh-zime] a type of protein that becomes more prevalent with age and contributes to weakening of tissue function throughout the body. The treatment merely blocks the protein.

In past studies, when scientists blocked the protein, older animals gained muscle mass and endurance. When it was artificially increased in young mice, their muscles became weaker and smaller.

Current treatments for osteoarthritis, which slowly breaks down joint cartilage, focus on mitigation and from there, surgery. No medicine slows or stops osteoarthritis.

The researchers say their findings could make it possible to repair damaged knees, ankles, hips and other joints with an injection or an oral medication.

And that would be great news for at least 33 million Americans who find themselves with swollen, painful joints, unable to take the stairs or to stand after sitting without a loud groan.

When it comes to damaged cartilage, most of us would likely welcome repair over replacement.

Butterflies are beautiful. The colorful patterns on their wings camouflage them and can fool predators into thinking they’re staring into the eyes of larger, more dangerous creatures.

Alas, the lives of these insects are brief, most living just a couple of weeks.

But in the weeping rainforests of Central and South America, a species called Heliconius lives. Its members are the Methuselahs of the butterfly world. Scientists hope they might hold some of the secrets of longevity.

A new study found these butterflies survive, on average, three times longer than their closest relatives, or several months. The longest known lifespan of another subgroup of the species is a whopping 348 days. Compare that to a closely related butterfly species that lives a mere 14 days.

That’s a 25-fold increase in their respective maximum lifespans.

What is more surprising is that another member of the Heliconius species doesn’t show the usual signs of wear and tear that come with aging. Their aging is slowed.

Bottle that and become the world’s next trillionaire.

Researchers believe these insects might provide insight into the biology of healthy aging. What allows them to live so much longer than other butterflies?

If scientists can figure out the mechanism of their longevity, it might provide clues about mammalian aging, including a certain wingless creature that can also fly, in a manner of speaking — humans.

Revealing those aging secrets is undoubtedly many years distant. In the meantime, if you want to live a long life, don’t smoke, eat healthy foods and exercise. And stopping to smell the flowers won’t hurt, either.

Alzheimer’s strips its sufferers of their memories and their independence; it robs families of precious time with loved ones who still know them. The disease has no cure. Unsurprisingly, many of us are keen on learning how we can prevent it.

Some brains have already figured that out. According to a new study from researchers in the Netherlands, certain brains are combatting Alzheimer’s by harnessing the protective power of their young cells, helping them survive damage from the disease.

Curiously, the brains of these individuals have all the biological hallmarks associated with Alzheimer’s, but no dementia. They demonstrate something researchers call “cognitive resilience.”

In the study, researchers looked at tissue from a brain bank, analyzing data from samples of brains with Alzheimer’s and without, as well as tissue from brains that showed physical signs of the disease but no dementia. The team focused on an area within the brain’s memory center, where “immature” neurons can still spawn.

Those whose brains demonstrated cognitive resilience — that is, possessed the pathology of Alzheimer’s but no dementia — did not have significantly higher numbers of immature neurons than those with the disease. This, researchers say, could mean that it’s more about how the cells act, rather than how many there are. The immature cells seem to trigger “programs” that help them last through damage, incurring less inflammation and preventing cell death. They might support surrounding tissue and help the brain continue functioning, too.

Further research avenues will look at how these immature neurons talk to other brain cells. For now, it’s heartening to know that some of our brains might know just what to do … even if the rest of us don’t yet.

A common trope reinforced by Hollywood depictions of older adults is that they start to lose their mental sharpness as they enter their golden years.

A recent study by University of Texas brain researchers, however, throws that idea on its head. While we can lose mental acuity in our later years, that doesn’t mean it’s always true.

In fact, the scientists note, the opposite can happen. Cognitive abilities can continue to improve throughout life.

Over the course of three years, the study tracked about 4,000 people ages 19 to 94. Participants were asked to complete brief training activities that required no more than 15 minutes daily.

Researchers measured individuals in areas representing clarity, emotional balance and connectedness to people and purpose.

The findings undermined the cliché of dottering older adults whose advanced years come with a diminished mind.

The investigation showed some individuals improved their brain function even into their 80s, and better performance was not tied to their age, gender or education.

Researchers say neuroplasticity is associated with self-agency. That means staying engaged in life, continuing to learn, reading and remaining socially connected.

Now this isn’t to say that keeping an active brain guarantees the organ’s long-term health. Many factors affect our health generally, and our brains especially. They include our genetics and our habits, like diet and level of physical activity.

In a sense, the brain is like a muscle. We exercise to keep the body toned. The brain also requires our own participation in its continued health.

It’s best to keep that in mind as we age.

Dieters have long been warned against repeatedly gaining and losing weight, often called yo-yo dieting or weight cycling.

It’s bad for our bodies and potentially worse than staying overweight — or so the thinking goes.

A new study by researchers in Denmark and Germany finds, however, that the dangers of such up-and-down dieting might be overblown.

The researchers examined decades of research involving humans and animals and found no convincing evidence that weight cycling causes long-term harm in those with obesity.

For years, weight cycling has been tied to health concerns like muscle loss, slowed metabolism and higher risk of diabetes and heart disease.

The researchers pored over observational studies, clinical trials and animal studies focused on repeated weight loss and gain. They examined how weight cycling affects weight, body composition, metabolism and blood sugar.

They found no strong evidence that up-and-down dieting is responsible for gradual long-term weight gain, muscle loss or metabolism deceleration.

Regaining weight can unravel many of the benefits of weight loss, including lower blood pressure, cholesterol levels and blood sugar.

But that does not necessarily mean a dieter will be less healthy than they were before losing weight.

The study comes at a time when many are using obesity medications to lose weight but seeing the weight creep back when they stop taking them.

The researchers said that weight gain should not automatically be seen as harmful. Even temporary weight loss can bring important health benefits.

The bottom line? Climbing back on the horse might be better than abandoning it altogether after all.

Technically, you could call it fruit juice.

While tomato juice often shoulders the burden of brunch beverages and soup additives, it’s rarely a drink we reach for without purpose. Now, new research from scientists at Ohio State University points to tomato juice — with a hint of soy — as a potential panacea for inflammation. Specifically, the kind that occurs in overweight adults.

It’s important to note that this wasn’t any ordinary tomato juice.

Scientists were inspired by previous research that showed diets rich in soy and tomato products were linked to a lower chance of prostate cancer. They prepared the study’s beverage using added plant compounds from soy, creating a beverage that was richer in lycopene and other nutrients than a tomato juice without those enhancements. Lycopene is commonly found in red vegetables and is known for its antioxidant properties.

Participants drank six ounces of the juice twice a day for four weeks. Then, after a washout period, they repeated the behavior with a low-lycopene tomato juice. Scientists analyzed blood and urine samples after each beverage trial, finding fewer markers of inflammation after the tomato-soy juice.

Researchers said they wanted to see if they could treat inflammation with a food-based intervention. Next steps will include testing the juice in people with pancreatitis, a condition where the pancreas is inflamed. It can be acute or chronic, but causes discomfort in either iteration. Ideally, this juice would improve their quality of life.

Special or not, tomato juice isn’t for everyone. But for benefits like these? Hopefully science will eventually show it should be bottoms up.