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Scientists turn back the clock on adult stem cells aging
ScienceDaily (Sep. 20, 2011) — Researchers have shown they can reverse the aging process for human adult stem cells, which are responsible for helping old or damaged tissues regenerate. The findings could lead to medical treatments that may repair a host of ailments that occur because of tissue damage as people age. A research group led by the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and the Georgia Institute of Technology conducted the study in cell culture, which appears in the September 1, 2011 edition of the journal Cell Cycle.
Biologists slow the aging process in fruit flies: Study has implications for humans
ScienceDaily (Nov. 9, 2011) — UCLA life scientists have identified a gene that slows the aging process. The biologists, working with fruit flies, activated a gene called PGC-1, which increases the activity of mitochondria, the tiny power generators in cells that control cell growth and tell cells when to live and die. "We took this gene and boosted its activity in different cells and tissues of the fly and asked whether this impacts the aging process," said David Walker, an assistant professor of integrative biology and physiology at UCLA and a senior author of the study. "We discovered that when we boost PGC-1 within the fly's digestive tract, the fly lives significantly longer.
Purging Senescent Cells May Postpone Diseases of Aging, Study Finds - NYTimes.com
The findings raise the prospect that any therapy that rids the body of senescent cells would protect it from the ravages of aging. But many more tests will be needed before scientists know if drugs can be developed to help people live longer. Senescent cells accumulate in aging tissues, like arthritic knees, cataracts and the plaque that may line elderly arteries.
Cycling fast: vigorous daily exercise recommended for a longer life
European Society of Cardiology A study conducted among cyclists in Copenhagen, Denmark1 showed that it is the relative intensity and not the duration of cycling which is of most importance in relation to all-cause mortality and even more pronounced for coronary heart disease mortality. The study presented today at the ESC Congress 2011, concluded that men with fast intensity cycling survived 5.3 years longer, and men with average intensity 2.9 years longer than men with slow cycling intensity. For women the figures were 3.9 and 2.2 years longer, respectively (see Figures below). The groups were adjusted for differences in age and conventional risk factor levels. Current recommendations prescribe that every adult should accumulate 30 minutes or more of moderate physical activity in leisure time, preferably every day of the week.Switch in cell's 'power plant' declines with age, rejuvenated by drug
ScienceDaily (Aug. 16, 2011) — Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have found a protein normally involved in blood pressure regulation in a surprising place: tucked within the little "power plants" of cells, the mitochondria. The quantity of this protein appears to decrease with age, but treating older mice with the blood pressure medication losartan can increase protein numbers to youthful levels, decreasing both blood pressure and cellular energy usage. The researchers say these findings, published online during the week of August 15, 2011, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , may lead to new treatments for mitochondrial-specific, age-related diseases, such as diabetes, hearing loss, frailty and Parkinson's disease.
New anti-inflammatory agents silence overactive immune response
ScienceDaily (Aug. 15, 2011) — A new way to fight inflammation uses molecules called polymers to mop up the debris of damaged cells before the immune system becomes abnormally active, researchers at Duke University Medical Center report. The discovery, published August 15 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , offers a promising new approach to treat inflammatory auto-immune disorders such as lupus and multiple sclerosis, which are marked by an overactive immune response. "Depending on the disease, cells that are damaged drive or perpetuate the immune response," said Bruce A.
Mitochondria in Mammalian Lung Tissue. Image by Louisa Howard Despite propaganda to the contrary, aging is rarely a pleasurable experience. A lifetime of damage to cells and tissues results in malfunction, making old age a significant risk factor for ailments such as cancers and neurologic disabilities typified by Alzheimer’s disease. As a consequence, the graying of world populations has triggered a scientific frenzy to unravel the basic processes behind aging and find ways to slow down and perhaps even prevent age-related degeneration. “Two linked ideas are at the core of our current aging theory,” says molecular cell biologist Colin Dingwall at Kings College, London “The first is that proteins, RNA and DNA are bombarded with and damaged by reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated during normal cellular respiration and this results in eventual decline and disease.
Mitochondria: Life, Death and the Agents of Aging - Decoded Science | Decoded Science
O nce upon a time, the planet was tyrannized by a giant dragon. The dragon stood taller than the largest cathedral, and it was covered with thick black scales. Its red eyes glowed with hate, and from its terrible jaws flowed an incessant stream of evil-smelling yellowish-green slime.
The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant
IAS Bulletin Article: Interview with Marios Kyriazis MD about L-
Dr. Kyriazis MD, is one of the few anti-aging physicians in the UK. He has a postgraduate qualification in Gerontology from the King's College, University of London, as well as a postgraduate qualification in Geriatric Medicine, granted by the Royal College of Physicians.
SENS5 Video: More on that General Method of Correcting Mitochondrial Mutations Mitochondria crowd your cells, roving descendants of ancient bacteria that were long ago co-opted to serve as power plants, turning food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP) , the energy store chemical used to power cellular machinery. As a legacy of their bacterial origins, mitochondria carry their own DNA , separate from that in the cell nucleus .
Fight Aging!