Bright as a bug

When not meddling in bananas, fruit flies may offer insight on age-related cognitive decline in humans. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that preventing the buildup of a common protein in aging fruit flies’ brains restored brain function and extended lifespan.

While studying the brains of aged fruit flies, the scientists observed a significant uptick in filamentous actin (F-actin), a protein that provides cellular structural support. To test whether the buildup contributed to mental decline, they tried turning off genes known to play a role in actin filament accumulation. Inhibiting the gene Fhos in aging neurons reduced F-actin levels to those present in the brains of young fruit flies. This gene intervention allowed the aged fruit flies to outperform their untreated peers by roughly 50 percent in an olfactory memory recall test.

Aged fruit flies with Fhos inhibition also lived approximately 25-30 percent longer and had better overall health—better movement, climbing endurance, and intestinal integrity compared with other flies. The study authors, who published their work Oct. 25 in Nature Communications, suggested the findings could benefit humans. But they cautioned more work is needed to understand how different cell and tissue types respond to F-actin disruption.

Cancer killer

Antioxidants in foods like blueberries and dark chocolate are thought to help ward off heart disease and other ailments. But fighting prostate cancer may require a different approach: A paper published Oct. 25 in Science showed that ­anti­oxidants’ opposite, pro-oxidants, kill prostate cancer cells in mice. Lead author Lloyd Trotman experimented with the pro-oxidant supplement menadione after a human trial treating prostate cancer with the antioxidant vitamin E ended in failure.

Pro-oxidants increase the production of unstable molecules called free radicals, while antioxidants stabilize these molecules. Trotman’s team at New York’s Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory studied the effect of menadione, a precursor to vitamin K, on mice with prostate cancer. They found that menadione wiped out prostate cancer cells by depleting a lipid called PI(3)P. As a result, the cancer’s progression significantly slowed. Trotman hopes the research could one day extend and improve the lives of men suffering from prostate ­cancer. —H.F.

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Measuring secondhand harms

Nearly 6 percent of pregnant women in the U.S. use marijuana, but at what risk to their unborn children? A recent study adds to the growing body of evidence linking marijuana use during pregnancy to negative post-birth outcomes. Published Oct. 28 in JAMA Pediatrics, the study found that prenatal cannabis exposure was associated with heightened aggression and poorer thinking skills in 5-year-olds. Of the 250 children studied, the 80 exposed to cannabis during pregnancy had poorer impulse control, planning abilities, and attention spans. —H.F.