The Yale scientist explains her research into biological and chronological age – and why she’s joined a $3bn startup funded by the likes of Jeff BezosIt can be said we have two ages: a fixed chronological age based on when we were born and a malleable biological age – the age at which our body is functioning, which can be affected by our lifestyle choices. Dr Morgan Levine designs tools that measure the latter. In her new book, True Age, she argues that we should regularly measure our own biological age – giving us information we could use to monitor, and even gain control over, our own individual ageing process. Levine, 37, is an assistant professor of pathology and epidemiology at Yale University’s school of medicine. This June she will join Altos Labs, a new $3bn (£2.2bn) anti-ageing biotech startup whose funders are said to include Jeff Bezos.What got you interested in the science of biological ageing? Growing up with an older father. He was 54 when I was born and people always assumed he was my grandfather. Most kids aren’t pondering their parents’ mortality early on, but I was already consumed with the fear that he might not be around. My mother, who works on ageing policy, also influenced me. I saw the resources it takes to care for older adults and wondered if there was a possibility to delay that need. Continue reading...

Oxford University’s Sir John Bell says sharp fall in death rate due to existing vaccines allows for a change in prioritiesIt is questionable how much longer current Covid-19 vaccines will be used as they have largely done their job in preventing mass deaths, and scientists should focus on developing a vaccine that stops transmission of the virus, according to leading scientist Sir John Bell.The huge success of Covid vaccines in countries able to get them has led to sharp declines in deaths and severe disease from the virus, even though the latest Covid variant, Omicron, has spread rapidly. Continue reading...

The renowned immunologist remains as upbeat about jabs – and UK life science – as he was in the depths of the pandemicSir John Bell, the Canadian immunologist, is a familiar sight to locals along the stretch of the Thames near his home in Wallingford, just outside Oxford, where he and his wife can often be seen rowing in a double scull.During the pandemic, Bell’s voice became familiar to millions of radio listeners too. As news broke that a viable Covid-19 vaccine was on its way, following successful trials by Pfizer and BioNTech, Bell was asked on BBC Radio 4 whether the world would now return to normal. His response was an emphatic “yes, yes, yes”. His words not only lifted spirits: they moved markets. Continue reading...

An avian flu that's spreading quickly across the U.S. has been detected in the Pacific Northwest in two backyard bird flocks in rural Oregon and Washington.

Canadian poultry farmers are facing fear and stress as a highly pathogenic strain of H5N1 avian influenza is currently circulating in both wild and domestic flocks across North America.