BioAge Labs announces it will present new preclinical data on APJ agonism

BioAge Labs (BIOA) announced that it will present new preclinical data supporting apelin receptor, APJ, agonism for the treatment of diabetic obesity and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. The data will be presented at the American Diabetes Association's 85th Scientific Sessions, held June 20-23, 2025, in Chicago, Illinois. In their two presentations, the company will present data that demonstrated that in preclinical models of diabetic obesity and HFpEF, APJ agonist treatment had potential as monotherapy that could be enhanced in combination with incretin therapies. Enhanced glycemic control in diabetic obesity – Dr. Rubin's oral presentation will show that in mouse models of diabetic obesity, APJ agonist monotherapy reduced HbA1c to levels comparable to lean controls and improved glucose tolerance by 25%. Cardioprotective effects in HFpEF – Dr. Yan's poster will show that in a mouse model of obesity-associated heart failure, APJ agonist monotherapy reduced cardiac hypertrophy and suppressed markers of cardiac injury. Combination of APJ agonism with an incretin provided enhanced cardioprotective benefits and greater weight loss compared to either treatment alone.
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Yahoo

2 hours ago

• Yahoo

Check It Out! Rubin Observatory Reveals First Glimpses of Stunning Space Images

The first major unveiling of images from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory is just about to drop, and we have a little taste of the wonders to come. Teaser images released ahead of the main event give us our first glimpses of what the powerful observatory has managed to capture in just 10 hours of observations – millions of galaxies and a plethora of asteroids, datasets that are just the first foray into a new era of astronomy. The observatory telescope is embarking on a 10-year survey of the southern sky called the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) in near-ultraviolet, optical, and near-infrared wavelengths, capturing the entire sky every few days to effectively compile a huge timelapse of the Universe. Related: Each section of the sky will be recorded around 800 times using the telescope's 3,200-megapixel camera – the largest camera ever built. The first image shows the Trifid and Lagoon nebulas in the Milky Way galaxy, two clouds in which baby stars are being born, a few thousand light-years from the Solar System. Such nebulas are not only incredibly pretty, they're important repositories of information about how stars form and grow. Rubin's image is a composite of 678 individual observations, taken over the course of seven hours. The rest of the images will drop on 23 June 2025, at 15:00 UTC (11:00 EDT), when the US National Science Foundation and Department of Energy will host a full reveal event. If you want to get in on the hype, live watch parties will be taking place all over the world, and the entire event will be livestreamed on YouTube – you can tune in below. "NSF-DOE Rubin Observatory will capture more information about our Universe than all optical telescopes throughout history combined," says Brian Stone, acting director of the NSF. "Through this remarkable scientific facility, we will explore many cosmic mysteries, including the dark matter and dark energy that permeate the Universe." Fast Radio Bursts Reveal Where The Universe's Missing Matter Is Hiding It's Official: Scientists Confirmed What's Inside Our Moon Jaw-Dropping Explosions on The Sun Captured in First NASA PUNCH Images

Fox News

4 hours ago

• Fox News

Diabetic patients taking GLP-1s may face increased risk of eye disease, study suggests

Diabetes is the leading cause of vision loss in people between 18 and 64 years old, according to the American Diabetes Association — and the best way to prevent this is to control blood sugar levels. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1s), such as Ozempic and Mounjaro, have become popular medications for controlling diabetes and treating obesity — but new Canadian research suggests they can also lead to a paradoxical side effect in the form of eye problems. A retrospective study conducted from January 2020 to November 2023 included more than 139,000 diabetic patients, some of whom were taking GLP-1s for at least six months and some who were not taking the medications over a three-year period. The average age of the participants was 66 years old, and approximately 47% were women. Researchers found that the participants taking the weight-loss medications had twice the risk of developing neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) compared to the people not taking them. "There have been growing reports of [eye] adverse events with GLP-1 receptor agonists, but no clear consensus regarding their impact on age-related macular degeneration (AMD) progression," study author Dr. Rajeev Muni, an ophthalmologist and vice-chair of clinical research in the Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences at the University of Toronto, told Fox News Digital. "In particular, we observed a dose-response relationship — the longer patients were exposed to these medications, the greater their risk appeared to be," added author Reut Shor, a researcher in the department of ophthalmology and vision sciences at the University of Toronto. The findings were published in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of vision loss in those aged 50 and older in the developing world, according to the American Society of Retinal Specialists. Approximately 20 million adults in the U.S. have the condition. It mainly affects people's central vision, which means they have a challenging time seeing in front of them, but their peripheral vision is intact, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). There are two types of AMD – dry and wet. Dry AMD, the most common type, occurs when small yellow deposits of protein develop under the macula, but symptoms may not occur in the early stages, experts said. "The longer patients were exposed to these medications, the greater their risk appeared to be." In about two out of every 10 cases, dry AMD develops into wet AMD — also known as neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). With this more advanced type of disease, abnormal blood vessels form under the retina and start to leak, causing damage to the central part of the retina, known as the macula, according to WebMD. "When this occurs, symptoms include loss of central vision, distortions in vision and blank areas missing in the central vision," Nishika Reddy, M.D., assistant professor of ophthalmology at Moran Eye Center's Midvalley Health Center at the University of Utah, told Fox News Digital. (She was not part of the study.) Risk factors for nAMD include chronic heart failure, chronic kidney disease and diabetes – all of which often overlap with those who take GLP-1s, experts confirmed. The study authors cautioned that their findings should be taken in the context of the overall higher risk of eye disease in older people. The incidence of nAMD in the general population is about one in 1,000, and it doubled to two in 1,000 for the group taking the GLP-1s in the study. However, the overall absolute risk is still small, according to the researchers. The study's main limitation is that it was observational in nature, meaning the researchers could not confirm that GLP-1s medications cause neovascular age-related macular degeneration. The study also could not draw conclusions about younger populations, the researchers acknowledged. "Also, our findings apply only to diabetic patients aged 66 years or older, and cannot be directly generalized to non-diabetic individuals using GLP-1 receptor agonists for weight loss," Shor told Fox News Digital. "While the risk of developing macular degeneration while on a GLP-1 drug is low, patients should be aware of the possible eye side effects." GLP-1 receptors are present in the retina regardless of age or diabetes status — so theoretically, the risk could apply to younger populations. More research is needed to better understand why diabetic people on GLP-1s have increased eye disease, Shor said. "While the risk of developing macular degeneration while on a GLP-1 drug is low, patients should be aware of the possible eye side effects related to these types of medications," Reddy said. If someone notices blurred or distorted vision, straight lines appearing wavy, or any new blind spots, they should seek medical attention, according to Muni. For more Health articles, visit Early detection of eye disease is crucial, experts agree, as timely treatment can reduce the risk of vision loss. The study authors said they hope their findings will empower patients to monitor for early symptoms.

National Geographic

9 hours ago

• National Geographic

These are the first images from Earth's giant new telescope

This image shows another small section of NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory's total view of the Virgo cluster. Visible are two prominent spiral galaxies (lower right), three merging galaxies (upper right), several groups of distant galaxies, many stars in the Milky Way galaxy and more. Image by NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory Perched high in the foothills of Chile's Andes mountains, a revolutionary new space telescope has just taken its first pictures of the cosmos—and they're spectacular. Astronomers are excited about the first test images released from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory , which show the universe in unprecedented detail, from violent cosmic collisions to faraway nebulas. 'It's really a great instrument. Its depth and large field of view will allow us to take really nice images of stars, especially faint ones,' says Christian Aganze, a galactic archeologist at Stanford University who will use the observatory's data to study the formation and evolution of the Milky Way. 'We are truly entering a new era.' The observatory has a few key components: A giant telescope, called the Simonyi Survey Telescope, is connected to the world's largest and highest resolution digital camera. Rubin's 27-foot primary mirror, paired with a mind-boggling 3,200-megapixel camera, will repeatedly take 30-second exposure images of vast swaths of the sky with unrivaled speed and detail. Each image will cover an area of sky as big as 40 full moons . (Vera Rubin was the GOAT of dark matter) Simonyi Survey Telescope at night, Vera Rubin Observatory, Chile. May 30, 2025. Photograph by Tomás Munita, National Geographic Every three nights for the next 10 years, Rubin will produce a new, ultra-high-definition map of the entire visible southern sky. With this much coverage, scientists hope to create an updated and detailed 'movie' they can use to view how the cosmos changes over time. 'Since we take images of the night sky so quickly and so often, we'll detect millions of changing objects literally every night. We also will combine those images to be able to see incredibly dim galaxies and stars, including galaxies that are billions of light years away,' said Aaron Roodman, program lead for the LSST Camera at Rubin Observatory and Deputy Director for the observatory's construction, at a press conference in early June. 'It has been incredibly exciting to see the Rubin observatory begin to take images. It will enable us to explore galaxies, stars in the Milky Way, objects in the solar system—all in a truly new way.' This image shows another small section of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's total view of the Virgo cluster. Visible are two prominent spiral galaxies (lower right), three merging galaxies (upper right), several groups of distant galaxies, many stars in the Milky Way galaxy and more. Image by NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory The first set of images taken with Rubin's specially-designed digital camera unveils the universe in startling detail. Researchers combined seven hours of observations into a single image which captures the ancient light cast out by the Lagoon Nebula and the Trifid Nebula. These vast clouds of interstellar gas and dust are 4,350 light-years away and 4,000 light-years away from Earth, respectively. Two other photos show the telescope's view of the Virgo Cluster, a mix of nearly 2,000 elliptical and spiral galaxies. Bright stars from our own cosmic neighborhood shine amongst sprawling systems of stars, gas, and dust held together by gravity. Each of the scattered pin-prick dots in the background represents a distant galaxy. Observation Specialist Lukas Eisert at the Control Room of Vera Rubin Observatory, Chile. May 30, 2025. Photograph by Tomás Munita, National Geographic William O'Mullane, deputy project manager specializing in software, looking at images shot at Vera Rubin Observatory, Chile. May 31, 2025. Photograph by Tomás Munita, National Geographic Rubin's images of the Virgo Cluster also show the chaotic jumble of merging galaxies—a process that plays a crucial role in galaxy evolution. (The four biggest mysteries the Vera Rubin Observatory could solve) 'The Virgo cluster images are breathtaking,' Aganze says.'The level of detail, from the large-scale merging galaxies to details in the spiral structure of individual galaxies, more distant galaxies in the background, foreground Milky Way stars, all in one image, is transformative!' The first images shown to the public, Roodman added, 'provide just a taste of Rubin's discovery power.' For the next decade, Rubin will capture millions of astronomical objects each day—or more than 100 every second. Ultimately, it's expected to discover about 17 billion stars and 20 billion galaxies that we've never seen before. In this immense image, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory offers a brand new view of two old friends: the Trifid and Lagoon Nebulae. The image provides a demonstration of what makes Rubin unique: its combination of an extremely wide field of view and the speed that allows it to take lots of big images in a very short time. Combining images reveals subtle details in the clouds of gas and dust. The more images we can combine, the more detail we see! This almost 5-gigapixel image combines 678 exposures taken in just 7.2 hours of observing time, and was composed from about two trillion pixels of data in total. No other observatory is capable of producing an image of such a wide area so quickly and with this much depth. The Trifid Nebula (also referred to as Messier 20) is a standout in the sky. It's a bright, colorful cloud of gas and dust about 5,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius. What makes it especially striking is the combination of features packed into one place: a glowing pink emission nebula, a cool blue reflection nebula, and dark dust lanes that split it into three sections—hence the name 'Trifid.' Inside, new stars are forming and blasting out strong winds and radiation, carving up the gas around them. It gives us a dramatic glimpse at how massive stars shape their surroundings even as they're being born. Below the Trifid Nebula in this image is the Lagoon Nebula (or Messier 8), another vibrant stellar nursery glowing about 4,000 light-years away. You can actually spot the Lagoon with just a pair of binoculars or a small telescope. At its heart is a cluster of young, massive stars—their intense radiation lights up the surrounding gas and shapes the swirling clouds into intricate patterns. The Lagoon nebula provides scientists with a great place to study the earliest stages of star formation—how giant clouds collapse, how star clusters take shape, and how newborn stars start to reshape their environment. This expansive image of Trifid and Lagoon together exposes an intricate web of dust lanes and star clusters that make this part of the Milky Way come alive with cosmic activity. The exquisite detail in the structure of the nebulosity shown here demonstrates the exceptional quality of Rubin's entire system—from its light-collecting power, to its sensitive camera, to its efficient data transfer and processing system. Over ten years, Rubin Observatory will take millions of images and will image each place in the sky, including this one, about 800 times. Every time we look at the Universe in a new way, we discover new things we never could have predicted—and with Rubin we will see more than we ever have before. The image was captured by Rubin Observatory using the 3200-megapixel LSST Camera—the largest digital camera in the world. We invite you to zoom in and explore the details in this unique image! Image by NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory The concept for the project was conceived roughly 30 years ago to maximize the study of open questions in astronomy with cutting-edge instrumentation. Construction began in 2014 in Chile's Cerro Pachón, at an altitude of 8,900 feet. Originally named the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, it was renamed in 2019 in honor of the American astronomer Vera C. Rubin , whose work provided the first observational evidence of dark matter. When the observatory begins science operations in earnest later in 2025, its instruments will yield a deluge of astronomical data that will be too overwhelming to process manually. (Each night, the observatory will generate around 20 terabytes of data .) So computer algorithms will sift through the large volumes of data, helping researchers flag any patterns or rare events in a particular patch of sky over time. Astronomers expect high-quality observations taken with the telescope will help map out the structure of the universe, find comets and potentially hazardous asteroids in our solar system, and detect exploding stars and black holes in distant galaxies. The Vera Rubin Observatory lit by a patch of light at sunrise. Photograph by Tomás Munita, National Geographic The observatory will also examine the optical counterparts of gravitational wave events—ripples in the fabric of space caused by some of the most energetic processes in the cosmos. By studying these events, astronomers hope to uncover the secrets of the invisible forces that shape the universe like dark matter and dark energy. 'Those first few images really show the results of those 10 years of really hard and meticulous work that the whole team has put into it, ranging from designing, simulating, to assembling, characterizing and calibrating every single part of the observatory, telescope, camera, the data pipeline, everything was really done very meticulously,' said Sandrine Thomas, deputy director of Rubin Observatory and the observatory's telescope and site scientist, at the June press conference. 'I really feel privileged to have worked with such a talented and dedicated multinational team,' Thomas added. 'It's really impressive.'