Melanoma minefield

Wearing SPF 100 may not be enough to ward off skin cancer in some parts of Pennsylvania. A recent study found that older adults within a 15-county stretch of South Central Pennsylvania were far more likely to develop melanoma—the deadliest form of skin cancer—than adults from other regions of the state. Published Nov. 14 in JCO Clinical Cancer Informatics, the study ties specific agricultural practices to melanoma.

Penn State researchers reviewed cancer registry data for adults 50 or older, who accounted for 85% of all melanoma cases between 2017 and 2021. Using statistical analysis, they identified a 15-county hot spot in which residents were at a 57.1% greater risk for melanoma. While eight of these counties were classified as metropolitan, all 15 had significant agricultural activity. After adjusting for ultraviolet radiation (sunlight) and social factors such as race and financial status, the researchers found a clear relationship between melanoma risk and both cropland density and herbicide use. Melanoma incidence increased by 14.1% for every 10% increase in cropland, and by 13.5% for every 8.6% increase in herbicide use.

Lead study author Benjamin Marks cautioned that other factors, such as genetics or healthcare access, could account for the link between melanoma risk and agricultural practices.

Time to re-download Duolingo

In an analysis of over 86,000 people across Europe, an international research team found that learning a new language may slow brain aging and cognitive decline.

The researchers used artificial intelligence to determine participants’ biobehavioral age gap (BBAG), the disparity between a person’s actual chronological age and the age that person seems to be based on factors like health and brain function. The linguists, who published their work Nov. 10 in Nature Aging, then compared each participant’s BBAG to the number of languages he or she spoke. Bilingual participants were more than twice as likely to experience slowed aging than monolingual ones. The protective effect remained after adjusting for linguistic, physical, and sociopolitical factors, and it increased with each language spoken.

Study author Agustín Ibáñez suggested the attention, memory, and executive control learning a new language requires could promote resilience against brain aging. —H.F.

Ancient RNA

The woolly mammoth just broke a record for being old. In a study published Nov. 14 in Cell, European scientists described removing the oldest known RNA molecules from the muscle and skin tissue of 10 woolly mammoths. Preservation in Siberian permafrost prevented the mammoths’ RNA from degrading. The best-preserved RNA came from one mammoth named Yuka, and analysis revealed cellular processes going on at the time of his death. With more fine-tuning, the extraction techniques used could lead to better understanding of extinct animals. —H.F.