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Baby boomers know all too well that "ringing in the ears" often comes with aging and hearing loss. Tinnitus can be the buzz that somatosensory neurons from the head and neck, like too many phone callers, create when they overcompensate for lost auditory signals from the ear, an animal study suggests. This nimble response to hearing loss, in which neurons adapt to changed conditions, is an example of the brain's "plasticity." Results in animals suggest that acupuncture and trigger point therapy may be effective treatments for people plagued by tinnitus.

Researchers have found that a key protein in the body's dendritic cells can stop the virus that causes AIDS from "budding" -- part of the virus' life cycle that is crucial to its ability to replicate and infect other cells.

Scientists have identified the gene that sets off a sequence of events in the blood vessels of otherwise healthy adults that can lead to high blood pressure. The disease process eventually makes conditions in vessels ripe for the creation of blockages that can cause heart attacks, strokes and circulatory problems. The finding might lead to new therapeutic options for high blood pressure, especially hypertension associated with aging.

Researchers have found a way to selectively block the ability of white blood cells to "crawl" toward the sites of injury and infection when such mobility drives disease, according to a new study. The results suggest a new treatment approach for autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and multiple sclerosis, and for conditions made worse by misplaced inflammation, like atherosclerosis, stroke and transplant rejection, researchers said.

Researchers achieve record longevity for ordinary baker's yeast through dietary and genetic changes. Findings provide insight into aging mechanisms shared with humans and other mammals. Biologists have created baker's yeast capable of living to 800 in yeast years without apparent side effects.

The American Journal of Human Genetics describes what might be a corner piece of the autism puzzle -- the identification and subsequent validation of a gene linked to the development of autism by three separate groups of scientists.

Cranberry juice, long dissed as a mere folk remedy for relieving urinary tract infections in women, is finally getting some respect. Thanks to Prof. Itzhak Ofek, a researcher at Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine, the world now knows that science supports the folklore. Prof. Ofek's research on the tart berry over the past two decades shows that its juice indeed combats urinary tract infections.

Researchers have created a beating heart in the laboratory. By using a process called whole organ decellularization, scientists grew functioning heart tissue by taking dead rat and pig hearts and reseeding them with a mixture of live cells.

Is getting new knees on your list of New Year's resolutions? Research indicates that women wait longer to pursue knee-replacement surgery than men do. By postponing surgery until they can no longer stand the pain, these women may also risk putting their mobility, and quality of life, on hold indefinitely.

When we think about the powers of testosterone, we usually do not consider mental processes. However, research suggests that testosterone levels may affect men's cognitive performance. All the body's attributes change with age, and mental functions are no exception. Memory is the most fragile mental function. With age, new learning is slower, new information is processed less carefully, and details often slip. These changes give rise to the "senior moment" in healthy elders and to cognitive impairment and dementia in others.