Health

Hindsight may be 20/20, but people feel more strongly about the future

Elizabeth Lock — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 18:24:09 +0000

Hindsight may be 20/20, but people feel more strongly about the future Elizabeth Lock Thu, 10/09/2025 - 12:24

In reviewing psychological studies, CU Boulder researcher Leaf Van Boven and colleagues find that people prioritize thinking about the future over the past.

Traditional

White

A better band-aid: New 'suspended animation' technology could revolutionize wound care

Lisa Marshall — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 14:10:22 +0000

A better band-aid: New 'suspended animation' technology could revolutionize wound care Lisa Marshall Thu, 10/09/2025 - 08:10

Lisa Marshall

Burn your hand on a hot stove and, almost instantly, immune cells within the wound begin producing inflammatory compounds to help clear out dead tissue and fight off infection. In most cases, the swelling abates quickly, and the wound heals within days.

But for the 600,000 or so people in the United States who suffer serious burns each year, the immune response itself can cause problems, with prolonged inflammation tearing through surrounding tissue and increasing risk of scarring, disfigurement and disability.

A team of CU Boulder scientists hopes to minimize such long-term damage by suspending that cellular immune response until the body, or care providers, are better equipped to deal with it.

Funded by a new up-to-$5.8 million, two-year contract from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), the project could lead to new treatments for a host of serious tissue injuries, from battlefield blast wounds to frostbite and diabetic ulcers. It could be particularly useful for those without immediate access to care.

“The ultimate goal is to help patients have less pain, faster healing and less systemic damage,” said Christopher Bowman, professor of chemical and biological engineering and co-principal investigator on the project. “It could also save lives.”

Suspended animation for cells

The new “Tissue Preservation Under Stress” (TPS) project grew out of a years-long CU Boulder effort, funded by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), to develop novel ways to keep battlefield injuries from worsening as soldiers awaited transport.

An AI rendering of a tardigrade, or 'water bear.' The microscopic animal goes into 'biostasis' to survive extreme temperatures, and served as inspiration for a new wound care technology. Credit: Adobe stock

Since 2018, the CU team has centered their research around a seemingly sci-fi process called “biostasis,” in which certain organisms temporarily shut down cellular processes to survive harsh conditions. For instance, in extremely cold temperatures, a microanimal called a tardigrade, a.k.a. water bear, slows its cellular function to a stand-still. When temperatures warm, the cells awaken from hibernation.

“The big picture idea was that you could possibly put injured tissue in biostasis until transport to a medical facility could occur,” explained Kristi Anseth, professor of chemical and biological engineering and co-principal investigator on the TPS project.

To induce biostasis in mammalian cells, Bowman, and a multidisciplinary team from CU’s BioFrontiers Institute, developed a specialized hydrogel—essentially a biodegradable 3D plastic— which, upon entering cells, spreads out like a net to stop proteins, enzymes and other molecules inside from moving around.

“It’s like freezing without the ice,” said Senior Research Associate Benjamin Fairbanks, who has been working on the technology for years. “It is a completely different way of addressing the problem,” of serious wounds.

Once light is shined on the cells, the hydrogel degrades and normal cellular activity resumes, according to a paper published in the journal Advanced Materials in 2022.

Subsequent studies on simulated skin in the lab show that when the hydrogel material is applied, healing stalls, and once the polymer degrades, healing resumes.
Pilot studies in animals have also shown promise.

“You basically protect the tissue from its own responses until the initial trauma passes and then bring the cells back to full activity,” said Bowman.

A smarter band-aid

Christopher Bowman, research assistant Maria Lemon, seated, senior research associate Ben Fairbanks, in background, and doctoral candidate Jessica Stelzel. (Photo by Glenn J. Asakawa/University of Colorado)

ARPA-H was founded in 2022 with a mission to fast-track “high-impact solutions to society’s most challenging health problems.”

In its announcement about the new TPS contract, the agency named traumatic tissue injuries among those major challenges.

“Despite advancement in wound care, millions of Americans lack immediate access to specialized medical facilities, increasing the risk of chronic wounds or death.”

Studies show burns account for as many as 20% of battlefield injuries too, with most caused by blasts from explosive devices. In those cases, prolonged inflammation can make it hard to preserve limbs. Biostasis could potentially make it easier, suspects Bowman.

More research is necessary before the technology is ready for use in people, but the potential applications are broad.

Anseth and Bowman envision a day when hydrogel-infused bandages could be used by soldiers in the field, carried on mountaineering expeditions (where frostbite is common), or used in remote health clinics, where resources for treating serious burns or wounds are limited and patients must often be transported.

It may also have applications in cancer treatment someday, to minimize the impact of burns from radiation therapy.

The new infusion of federal dollars could make these possibilities come sooner.

“What’s really special about this funding is that it bridges the gap between fundamental science and clinical application and it makes you think big,” said Anseth. “It’s exciting to be a part of that.”

Armed with a $6 million contract from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, CU researchers are fast-tracking development of a new way to prevent long-term damage from burns, diabetic ulcers, frostbite, battlefield wounds and more.

Traditional

Christopher Bowman, left, and members of his research team demonstrate how light can be used to deactivate a technology that puts cells in 'suspended animation.' Credit: Glenn Asakawa/CU Boulder

White

Professor Christopher Bowman, left, and members of his research team demonstrate how light is used to activate a novel treatment for frostbite, severe burns, battlefield wounds and more. Credit: Glenn Asakawa/CU Boulder

Student helps uncover new treatment for respiratory syndrome

Megan Maneval — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 17:50:20 +0000

Student helps uncover new treatment for respiratory syndrome Megan Maneval Tue, 09/30/2025 - 11:50

The project, like something straight out of a sci-fi movie, combines RNA-based gene therapy with tiny microrobots for drug transport to help treat acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Traditional

White

Inside the 'incelosphere:' What the hit series 'Adolescence' gets right about online hate

Lisa Marshall — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 16:35:54 +0000

Inside the 'incelosphere:' What the hit series 'Adolescence' gets right about online hate Lisa Marshall Mon, 09/29/2025 - 10:35

Lisa Marshall

Jillian Turanovic had just worked out at a yoga studio in Tallahassee, Florida when, the next day, an armed man walked in the studio door and began firing, killing two women and injuring several others before turning the gun on himself.

Turanovic was shaken and heartbroken. As a criminologist, she was also determined to learn more about what motivated the shooter, a 40-year-old man with a history of misogynistic views shared openly online.

Seven years later, Turanovic, co-director of the new Crime and Justice Center at CU Boulder, says extremist online misogyny is a growing threat, with more than 50,000 actively registered users of so-called ‘incel’ forums and nearly three million visits to the largest one in the first three months of 2025.

Such forums serve as the centerpiece of the Netflix series "Adolescence," about a 13-year-old boy accused of murdering a female classmate. The series won eight Emmys earlier this month and is now among the top streaming shows in the country.

Jillian Turanovic, associate professor of sociology

“The themes in this show—around young, vulnerable boys spending a lot of time online and ingesting this hateful rhetoric about women—are very real,” says Turanovic, an associate professor of sociology who recently published a report about Incel Violence and the Incelosphere.

Turanovic spoke with CU Boulder Today about what "Adolescence" gets right, how young men are uniquely vulnerable to online hate, and what parents can do.

What is an incel?

The term was coined by a woman in Canada in the 1990s who started the first involuntary celibate website as a self-help forum. But it got co-opted and evolved into a community of hate and anger directed at women. Involuntary celibates, or "incels," are individuals, almost exclusively male, who are unable to develop a romantic or sexual relationship despite desiring one. The concept gained notoriety in 2014 after 22-year-old Elliot Rodger killed six people, including two sorority members, in Isla Vista, California, near the University of California, Santa Barbara. In the months leading up to the attack, he produced a manifesto spouting incel ideology, and he has become glorified as a saint in the most concerning reaches of this subculture.

What is the 'incelosphere'?

It is one small part of the broader internet culture known as the "manosphere." Common underlying rhetoric across the manosphere is that if men are experiencing problems, women are to blame and it views women’s equality and liberation as threatening. The incelosphere is a smaller subset rooted in feeling alienated and rejected by women.

The show talks about the 80/20 rule. What is this?

One thing that's really alarming about incel-based rhetoric is that it sends a message to men and boys that if they're not liked or desired by women, it's something that is biologically predetermined. This "rule" is the idea that 80% of women are attracted to 20% of men, and if you are not in that 20% you are essentially doomed to be alone. This is a dangerous myth with no scientific basis.

However, there are a lot of contradictions in this culture, because it also heavily promotes "looksmaxxing"—things like how to build a stronger jaw or more symmetrical bone structure or become more muscular. When these efforts fail, it seems to confirm fears about being genetically inferior. This pattern can lead to hopelessness and escalate to violent rhetoric and hatred toward women.

What about the show's 'blue pill' and 'red pill' references?

In the incelosphere, references to the "blue pill" represent a state of naivete, where you haven’t been awakened to the idea of the 80/20 rule yet—you’re under the false impression that there’s someone out there for you. The "red pill" represents when you start to awaken to this "truth."

The worst, most concerning elements of this culture are represented by the "black pill," which symbolizes hopelessness and resentment. Being "black pilled" is far less common, yet this ideology heavily influences rhetoric on incel forums through a small group of extremely active users. This is where you sometimes see calls to violence and radicalization.

How do boys find their way to the incelosphere?

Research shows that users as young as 15 are active on major incel forums. But it’s important to realize that most young men and boys don’t go online seeking these forums out. They can be led there simply by searching for things related to basic teenage identity struggles, like feeling bad about how you look or researching mental health or suicide forums. For older demographics, fitness and unemployment forums can also inadvertently lead them to these spaces through various algorithms.

How concerned should people be?

Most incel content is not necessarily espousing violence, and most incels never resort to violence. However, I think we do need to be concerned about how young men are being socialized to view women. There have also been several high-profile acts of mass violence carried out by self-identified incels.

How did your experience in Tallahassee in 2018 impact you?

It was extremely traumatizing. It led to increased advocacy for research and change, including efforts by Maura’s Voice, a nonprofit founded by Jeff Binkley, whose daughter Maura was one of the victims. Many of us believe that hate against women should be taken as seriously as violence against other populations that we know stem from radicalization and extremism. We believe incel violence, even if only concentrated in extremist fringes of the incelosphere, should be viewed as a growing terrorism threat.

What can parents do?

This show demonstrates how people who are young and vulnerable can become sucked into this rhetoric, despite having parents that care about them. They end up in these forums because they're already experiencing feelings of hopelessness, rejection and loss of self-worth. Recognizing those signs is a good first step. If someone is spending excessive time online and beginning to use language that is disparaging toward women, that may also indicate they're digesting some problematic content.

Most importantly, we need to make sure that boys have good role models and real-life connections that give them confidence, so that if they are exposed to this hateful messaging, they don’t get sucked in. Having positive interactions with people of all genders helps young men develop healthy perspectives on relationships and see women as human beings and as equals, not through the distorted lens these forums promote.

CU Boulder Today regularly publishes Q&As with our faculty members weighing in on news topics through the lens of their scholarly expertise and research/creative work. The responses here reflect the knowledge and interpretations of the expert and should not be considered the university position on the issue. All publication content is subject to edits for clarity, brevity and university style guidelines.

The story of a 13-year-old boy accused of murdering a female classmate recently swept the Emmys and is now one of the top streaming shows on Netflix. Criminologist Jillian Turanovic says its portrayal of online radicalization of young men is chillingly accurate.

Traditional

White

A scene from the Netflix series Adolescence shows 13-year-old Jamie Miller, played by Owen Cooper, being questioned by police.

Why do some thoughts refuse to leave?

Megan Maneval — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 19:54:49 +0000

Why do some thoughts refuse to leave? Megan Maneval Tue, 09/16/2025 - 13:54

Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine

CU Boulder graduate student researcher Jacob DeRosa delves into the brain's ability to remove unwanted thoughts.

Traditional

White

A new way to fight allergies: Switch on the light

Lisa Marshall — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 18:21:10 +0000

A new way to fight allergies: Switch on the light Lisa Marshall Mon, 09/15/2025 - 12:21

Lisa Marshall , Nicholas Goda

Tess Eidem holds a jar of fungus used to produce allergens for research. A new study shows that UV light can reduce allergens in the air by double digits within a half-hour. Credit: Patrick Campbell/CU Boulder

Cats. Dust mites. Mold. Trees.

For people with allergies, even a brief whiff of the airborne allergens these organisms produce can lead to swollen eyes, itchy skin and impaired breathing.

Such allergens can persist indoors for months after the original source is gone, and repeated exposure can exacerbate, and even lead to, asthma.

What if you could just flip a switch and disable them? You can, according to new CU Boulder research.

“We have found that we can use a passive, generally safe ultraviolet light treatment to quickly inactivate airborne allergens,” said study author Tess Eidem, a senior research associate in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering.

“We believe this could be another tool for helping people fight allergens in their home, schools or other places where allergens accumulate indoors.”

The findings were published in August in the journal ACS ES&T Air.

Why you can't kill an allergen

Walk into a room with a cat and, if you sneeze, it’s not actually the cat you are reacting to. It’s likely airborne flecks of a protein called Fel d1 produced in their saliva. The protein spreads when they lick themselves and ends up in microscopic flakes of dead skin floating in the air, a.k.a. dander. When we inhale these particles, our immune system produces antibodies that bind to the protein’s unique 3D structure, kicking off an allergic reaction.

Dogs, mice, dust mites, mold and plants all emit their own unique proteins, with their own unique structure. Unlike bacteria and viruses, these allergens can’t be killed because they were never alive.

“After those dust mites are long gone, the allergen is still there,” said Eidem. “That’s why, if you shake out a rug, you can have a reaction years later.”

Standard methods of reducing allergens—like vacuuming, washing walls, using an air filter and regularly bathing pets—can work OK but are hard to maintain, long-term studies show.

Eidem and co-authors Mark Hernandez, a professor of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, and Kristin Rugh, a microbiologist in the lab, sought a simpler way.

Tess Eidem pumps airborne allergens into a sealed chamber to test how UV light impacts them. Credit: Patrick Campbell/CU Boulder

Instead of eliminating the proteins that cause allergies, they sought to change their structure—much like unfolding an origami animal—so the immune system wouldn’t recognize them.

“If your immune system is used to a swan and you unfold the protein so it no longer looks like a swan, you won’t mount an allergic response,” explained Eidem.

UV light, their study suggests, can do that.

Let there be light

Previous research has shown that UV light can kill airborne microorganisms, including the virus that causes COVID-19.

It’s already used widely to disinfect equipment in hospitals, airports and elsewhere, but the bandwidth is typically so strong (a wavelength of 254 nanometers) that users must wear protective equipment to prevent damage to skin and eyes.

Eidem used 222-nanometer-wavelength lights, a less-intense alternative considered safe for occupied spaces because it doesn’t penetrate deep into cells. (It does not come entirely without risks, including ozone production, she notes, so exposure should be limited.)

The team pumped microscopic aerosolized allergens from mites, pet dander, mold and pollen into an unoccupied and sealed 350-cubic-foot chamber. Then they switched on four lunchbox-sized UV222 lamps on the ceiling and floor.

When they sampled the air at 10-minute intervals and compared it to untreated, allergen-filled air via laboratory tests, they saw significant differences. In the treated samples, immunorecognition was reduced, meaning the antibodies no longer recognized many of the proteins and stuck to them.

UV 222 lights

After just 30 minutes, airborne allergen levels effectively decreased by about 20% to 25% on average, the study showed. Efficacy depended on the type of allergen, how long the light was on and what the allergen was floating in (dust, dander, liquid droplets, etc.) In one condition tested, after 40 minutes of UV light exposure, the cat allergen Fel d 1 had decreased by 61% compared to untreated air.

“Those are pretty rapid reductions when you compare them to months and months of cleaning, ripping up carpet, and bathing your cat,” said Eidem.

A portable allergy buster?

UV222 lights are already commercially available, mostly for industrial antimicrobial uses.

But Eidem envisions a day when companies could engineer portable versions for people to switch on when they visit a friend with a pet or clean out a dusty basement.

UV222 systems could also potentially protect workers frequently exposed to allergens, such as those who work around live animals or in cannabis grow houses where, her own research shows, allergic reactions can be deadly.

One-in-three adults and children in the United States have allergies, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Eidem hopes her research, and more to come, can provide them with some relief—or even save lives.

“Asthma attacks kill about 10 people every day in the United States, and they are often triggered by airborne allergies,” she said. “Trying to develop new ways to prevent that exposure is really important.”

Ultraviolet light can disable airborne allergens within 30 minutes, according to a new study. The findings could lead to new portable devices to prevent allergies or new systems to provide relief from allergens in workplaces and other public spaces.

Traditional

White

New single-dose, temperature-stable rabies vaccines could expand global access

Amber Elise Carlson — Thu, 04 Sep 2025 19:46:39 +0000

New single-dose, temperature-stable rabies vaccines could expand global access Amber Elise Carlson Thu, 09/04/2025 - 13:46

Amber Carlson

A pair of gloved hands holds a syringe and a vial with a vaccine solution. (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Roughly 60,000 people worldwide die every year from rabies, a dreaded virus that attacks the nervous system and can trigger aggression, seizures, paralysis and coma.

In industrialized countries, infections and deaths in humans are rare, thanks to vaccines widely given to pets and people for prevention and available as a life-saving treatment once someone has been exposed. But in developing countries, including rural parts of Asia and Africa, rabies remains a major threat.

Now, CU Boulder researchers have discovered a new way to make human rabies vaccines that could greatly expand access to immunization across the globe. The new method, outlined in an August 2025 paper in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, creates shots that are temperature-stable—meaning they don’t need to be stored at cold temperatures like traditional rabies vaccines.

These innovative shots also combine multiple timed-release doses into a single injection, potentially reducing the number of health care visits each person needs and helping to break down barriers to care. The same process could also be used to create other vaccines, including those for human papillomavirus (HPV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

“We think the implications of this are huge,” said Ted Randolph, a professor in CU Boulder’s Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and the lead author of the new study. “We’re really excited about it.”

Challenges of current rabies vaccines

Vaccines can work in a variety of ways. Some, like vaccines against flu or rabies, expose the body to weakened, inactivated or killed viruses. This teaches the body to recognize proteins found on their surfaces and create antibodies that fight future infections by binding to those proteins. Others, like protein-based vaccines for Covid, contain select proteins from the target pathogen that can trigger a similar immune response.

From left, Ted Randolph and colleague Robert Garcea pose for a photo. (Credit: Glenn Asakawa)

All currently marketed vaccines need to be kept refrigerated or frozen—sometimes at temperatures as low as minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit—because the proteins in them start to degrade at warmer temperatures.

Like milk that sat out on the counter too long, a vaccine solution can curdle as its proteins break down and clump together. At that point, the shots are no longer effective. Cooling them slows down the protein degradation process, said Randolph.

“The proteins basically want to make cheese,” he said. “You have to keep them from making cheese for long enough that you can manufacture the vaccines, get them to pharmacies and hospitals, and get them to patients.”

This makes it difficult, if not impossible, to administer traditional rabies vaccines in regions that lack electricity or don’t have the specialized cold storage equipment needed. In areas with electricity but poor infrastructure, a single power outage can wipe out vaccine supplies for entire communities.

The rabies vaccine also requires between three and five doses at timed intervals, depending on the patient. People in developing countries tend to visit doctors less often and have a harder time accessing medical care, so they are less likely to get all the needed doses.

‘Sapphire-coated Jolly Ranchers’

Even at warm temperatures, the shots developed by Randolph’s team don’t degrade.

To make them, the team sprays sugar solutions containing inactivated rabies viruses and other vaccine components through nozzles that make a fine mist, which dries to form a powder of microparticles. These microparticles have a glassy texture similar to that of a hard candy. The rabies virus proteins are immobilized and preserved in the candy coating, like ancient insect fossils trapped in amber.

Next, the team coats the candied particles with a layer of aluminum oxide (sapphire) of precisely controlled nanoscopic thickness using a process called atomic layer deposition pioneered by Alan Weimer and Steven George, professors in engineering and chemistry at CU Boulder.

Because sapphire dissolves very slowly once injected into a patient, the nanoscopic sapphire layer protects the sugar-coated vaccine particles for days to weeks, depending on the thickness of the sapphire layer applied on the microparticles. When the sapphire starts to break down, the sugar layer dissolves, and the vaccine particles are released into the body one dose at a time.

A microscopic image shows vaccine particles with a sapphire coating. These particles are fractured to show the coating. (Credit: Ted Randolph)

“We're basically making sapphire-coated Jolly Ranchers,” Randolph said.

These vaccines are stable at high temperatures, can be stored in a dry powder form and delivered in bulk to parts of the world that lack cold-storage capacity.

“You can now take these vaccines to places without refrigeration, and even to places that get hot,” Randolph said. “So transportation through rural India or wherever you're going is no longer a problem.”

It’s too soon to know how effective these vaccines are in humans. Currently, they’re being tested in animals, and human clinical trials are at least a couple of years away. But the results from early testing have been promising.

In mice, the researchers found that even single injections of the spray-dried, sapphire-coated vaccine powders sparked stronger immune responses than multiple doses of traditional liquid rabies vaccines. The immune responses did not weaken after storing the vaccines for three months at temperatures up to 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

Randolph and his colleague Robert Garcea, professor emeritus in CU Boulder’s Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, have formed a startup company called VitriVax to bring the technology—decades in the making—to market.

“It's been 25 years of lots of talented grad students adding little bits and pieces to the puzzle. It’s the kind of thing that does require long-term dedication, work and funding,” Randolph said.

Beyond the story

Our bioscience impact by the numbers:

Top 7% university for National Science Foundation research funding
No. 30 global university system granted U.S. patents
89-plus biotech startups with roots at CU Boulder in past 20 years

Follow CU Boulder on LinkedIn

CU Boulder engineers have developed a new method for making vaccines that combines multiple, timed-release doses into a single injection that doesn't require refrigeration.

Traditional

White

Video games don't rot your brain—they train it

Megan Maneval — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 13:17:32 +0000

Video games don't rot your brain—they train it Megan Maneval Fri, 08/22/2025 - 07:17

Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine

CU Boulder scientists have found that playing video games comes with small but significant cognitive benefits.

Traditional

White

DNA from extinct hominin may have helped ancient peoples survive in the Americas

Daniel William Strain — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 22:17:04 +0000

DNA from extinct hominin may have helped ancient peoples survive in the Americas Daniel William… Thu, 08/21/2025 - 16:17

Daniel Strain

Thousands of years ago, ancient humans undertook a treacherous journey, crossing hundreds of miles of ice over the Bering Strait to the unknown world of the Americas.

Now, a new study led by the �� suggests that these nomads carried something surprising with them—a chunk of DNA inherited from a now-extinct species of hominin, which may have helped humans adapt to the challenges of their new home.

The researchers published their results Aug. 21 in the journal "Science."

In June 2025, researchers reported that the "Harbin cranium," originally unearthed in the 1930s, likely belonged to a Denisovan. To date, it is the only known Denisovan skull. (Credit: Fu et al., Cell, 2025)

Scientists discovered remains belonging to the first known Denisovan, who likely died more than 50,000 years ago, in a cave in Russia called Denisova, hence the name. (Credit: CC photo via Wikimedia Commons)

“In terms of evolution, this is an incredible leap,” said Fernando Villanea, one of two lead authors of the study and an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at CU Boulder. “It shows an amount of adaptation and resilience within a population that is simply amazing.”

The research takes a new look at a species known as Denisovans. These ancient relatives of humans lived from what is today Russia south to Oceania and west to the Tibetan Plateau. The Denisovans likely went extinct tens of thousands of years ago. Their existence, however, remains poorly understood: Scientists identified the first known Denisovan just 15 years ago from the DNA in a fragment of bone found in a cave in Russia. Like Neanderthals, Denisovans may have had prominent brows and no chins.

“We know more about their genomes and how their body chemistry behaves than we do about what they looked like,” Villanea said.

A growing body of research has shown that Denisovans interbred with both Neanderthals and humans, profoundly shaping the biology of people living today.

To explore those connections, Villanea and his colleagues including co-lead author David Peede from Brown University, examined the genomes of humans from across the globe. In particular, the team set its sights on a gene called MUC19, which plays an important role in the immune system.

The group discovered that humans with Indigenous American ancestry are more likely than other populations to carry a variant of this gene that came from Denisovans. In other words, this ancient genetic heritage may have helped humans survive in the completely new ecosystems of North and South America.

A little-known gene

Villanea added that MUC19’s function in the human body is about as mysterious as Denisovans themselves. It’s one of 22 genes in mammals that produce mucins. These proteins make mucus, which, among other functions, can protect tissues from pathogens.

“It seems like MUC19 has a lot of functional consequences for health, but we’re only starting to understand these genes,” he said.

Previous research has shown that Denisovans carried their own variant of the MUC19 gene, with a unique series of mutations, which they passed onto some humans. That kind of admixture was common in the ancient world: Most humans alive today carry some Neanderthal DNA, whereas Denisovan DNA makes up as much as 5% of the genomes of people from some populations in Oceania.

In the current study, Villanea and colleagues wanted to learn more about how these genetic time capsules shape our evolution.

The group pored through already published data on the genomes of modern humans from Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico and Colombia where Indigenous American ancestry and DNA is common.

They discovered that one in three modern people of Mexican ancestry carry a copy of the Denisovan variant of MUC19—and particularly in portions of their genome that come from Indigenous American heritage. That’s in contrast to people of Central European ancestry, only 1% of whom carry this variant.

The researchers discovered something even more surprising: In humans, the Denisovan gene variant seems to be surrounded by DNA from Neanderthals.

“This DNA is like an Oreo, with a Denisovan center and Neanderthal cookies,” Villanea said.

Map of a land bridge connecting modern-day Russia to Alaska roughly 21,000 years ago. (Credit: U.S. National Park Service)

A new world

Here’s what Villanea and his colleagues suspect happened: Before humans crossed the Bering Strait, Denisovans interbred with Neanderthals, passing the Denisovan MUC19 to their offspring. Then, in a game of genetic telephone, Neanderthals bred with humans, sharing some Denisovan DNA. It’s the first time scientists have identified of DNA jumping from Denisovans to Neanderthals and then humans.

Later, humans migrated to the Americas where natural selection favored the spread of this borrowed MUC19.

Why the Denisovan variant became so common in North and South America but not in other parts of the world isn’t yet clear. Villanea noted that the first people who lived in the Americas likely encountered conditions unlike anything else in human history, including new kinds of food and diseases. Denisovan DNA may have given them additional tools to contend with challenges like these.

“All of a sudden, people had to find new ways to hunt, new ways to farm, and they developed really cool technology in response to those challenges,” he said. “But, over 20,000 years, their bodies were also adapting at a biological level.”

To build that picture, the anthropologist is planning to study how different MUC19 gene variants affect the health of humans living today. For now, Villanea said the study is a testament to the power of human evolution.

“What Indigenous American populations did was really incredible,” Villanea said. “They went from a common ancestor living around the Bering Strait to adapting biologically and culturally to this new continent that has every single type of biome in the world.”

Other co-authors of the new study include researchers at Brown University; the University of Washington School of Medicine; Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; University of Copenhagen; Clemson University; University of Padova; University of Turin; University of California, Berkeley; Université Paris- Saclay; and Trinity College Dublin.

Beyond the story

Our bioscience impact by the numbers:

Top 7% university for National Science Foundation research funding
No. 30 global university system granted U.S. patents
89-plus biotech startups with roots at CU Boulder in past 20 years

Follow CU Boulder on LinkedIn

Scientists know little about Denisovans, a now-extinct relative of humans. But a gene inherited from these hominins may have helped ancient peoples adapt to the new environments of North and South America thousands of years ago.

Traditional

White

Why do some people age faster than others? Study IDs genes at play

Lisa Marshall — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 02:45:35 +0000

Why do some people age faster than others? Study IDs genes at play Lisa Marshall Mon, 08/18/2025 - 20:45

Lisa Marshall

As a nurse working in an elder care facility, Isabelle Foote saw it every day: Some people age better than others.

Some eased into their 90s with mind and body intact, while others battled diabetes, Alzheimer’s or mobility issues decades earlier. Some could withstand a bad fall or bout of the flu with ease, while others never left the hospital again.

“Why was this happening to them and not the person next to them who was the same age and got to go home? We really didn’t have a lot of answers,” said Foote, who left that job to become a geneticist.

In a paper published this month in the journal Nature Genetics, Foote, now a postdoctoral associate at CU Boulder’s Institute for Behavioral Genetics, provides some clues.

Isabelle Foote left her job as an elder care nurse to use genetics to better understand aging.

She and an international team of co-authors have identified more than 400 genes associated with accelerated aging across seven different sub-types. The study reveals that different groups of genes underlie different kinds of disordered aging, a.k.a. frailty, ranging from cognitive decline to mobility issues to social isolation.

The findings lend support to what is known as the “geroscience hypothesis” — the idea that to treat the multiple chronic illnesses that come with aging, we must treat aging itself.

“To be able to identify treatments to stop or reverse accelerated biological aging, you need to know what the underlying biology is,” said Foote, first author on the paper. “This is the largest study yet to use genetics to try to do that.”

Redefining 'frailty'

The study centers around “frailty,” a catch-all term for the “multisystem physiological decline” that often comes with aging.

More than 40% of U.S. adults over age 65 are considered frail.

Doctors typically assess frailty using a 30- point index that measures everything from walking speed and grip strength to number of diagnosed illnesses and amount of social activity. The problem with this approach, said Foote, is that two people can get the same high frailty score even though one is cognitively sharp but can’t walk and another is in good physical health but has a poor memory.

This lack of distinction has made it hard for doctors to make recommendations for aging adults and for scientists to pinpoint the underlying causes of unhealthy aging.

“Aging is not just one thing. There are many ways to be frail,” said Dr. Kenneth Rockwood, a leading expert in frailty, based at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada and co-author on the study. “The question then becomes: What genes are involved?”

To find out, the team conducted a “genome-wide association study” analyzing DNA and health information from hundreds of thousands of participants in the UK Biobank and other public datasets to see which genes were associated with 30 frailty symptoms.

They identified 408 genes associated with accelerated aging/frailty, a significant increase from the 37 genes previously identified.

Some genes, they found, were strongly linked to certain subtypes of unhealthy aging, including: “disability”; “poor cognition”; “metabolic problems” (like diabetes and heart disease); “multiple diseases”; “generally unhealthy lifestyle”; and “limited social support”.

For instance, the SP1 gene, associated with immune function and Alzheimer’s disease was strongly associated with the broad “poor cognition” subtype, whereas the FTO gene, a gene known to be associated with obesity, seemed to underly several different subtypes.

“What this paper does is not only identify sub-facets of disordered aging but also demonstrate that there is very different biology underlying them,” said senior author Andrew Grotzinger, assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at CU Boulder. “The tangible next step is to figure out how to treat this underlying biology.”

An anti-aging pill?

In the near term, the authors suggest that clinical measurements of frailty—which often shows up long before specific diseases—be expanded to include the six subtypes.

That way, someone diagnosed as cognitively frail could be guided toward therapies to prevent dementia, while someone frail in the metabolic domain might take steps to prevent diabetes or heart disease.

Foote envisions a day when people could get a “polygenic risk score” offering more detailed insight into what kind of unhealthy aging they are prone to.

But the holy grail, she says, would be to identify the molecular pathways that drive aging itself and develop therapies to put the brakes on.

Is a single anti-aging pill on the horizon?

Not likely, the authors say.

But could there one day be a pill to treat a package of age-related metabolic issues, and another to address numerous cognitive issues?

It’s a tantalizing idea, said Grotzinger, and genetic research could pave the way.

“This paper suggests that it’s probably not going to be a single magic pill to address all the diseases that come with aging, but maybe it doesn’t need to be hundreds anymore.”

Researchers have identified more than 400 genes associated with accelerated aging, a.k.a. frailty, across seven categories. The findings pave the way toward personalized therapies to curb disease by decelerating aging.

Traditional

White

Researchers have identified hundreds of genes associated with accelerated aging in hopes of someday developing therapies to slow it down. Credit: Adobe Stock

Health

Hindsight may be 20/20, but people feel more strongly about the future

Related Articles

A better band-aid: New 'suspended animation' technology could revolutionize wound care

Suspended animation for cells

A smarter band-aid

Related Articles

Student helps uncover new treatment for respiratory syndrome

Related Articles

Inside the 'incelosphere:' What the hit series 'Adolescence' gets right about online hate

What is an incel?

What is the 'incelosphere'?

The show talks about the 80/20 rule. What is this?

What about the show's 'blue pill' and 'red pill' references?

How do boys find their way to the incelosphere?

How concerned should people be?

How did your experience in Tallahassee in 2018 impact you?

What can parents do?

Related Articles

Why do some thoughts refuse to leave?

Related Articles

A new way to fight allergies: Switch on the light

Why you can't kill an allergen

Let there be light

A portable allergy buster?

Related Articles

New single-dose, temperature-stable rabies vaccines could expand global access

Challenges of current rabies vaccines

‘Sapphire-coated Jolly Ranchers’

Related Articles

Video games don't rot your brain—they train it

Related Articles

DNA from extinct hominin may have helped ancient peoples survive in the Americas

A little-known gene

A new world

Related Articles

Why do some people age faster than others? Study IDs genes at play

Redefining 'frailty'

An anti-aging pill?

Related Articles