Brain Growth Receptors Control Lifespan Citation: Robinson R (2008) Brain Growth Receptors Control Lifespan. PLoS Biol 6(10): e274. Published: October 28, 2008 Copyright: © 2008 Richard Robinson. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. When resources are short, growing organisms face an existential choice: should you ignore the shortage and hope for better times soon, or scale back and live within your limited means? In mammals, two principal hormones—growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1)—promote growth. The authors were led to the brain by the hierarchy of the endocrine system itself. To test this, they selectively knocked out IGF-1 receptors in the brains of mice, leaving peripheral receptors (including those in the pituitary) alone.
Fight Aging Anti-aging can be a difficult topic to address: a war is currently fought over the meaning of the term in research and medicine, and as a brand for products in an energetic and often fraudulent marketplace. Even mentioning anti-aging medicine is likely to prejudice many readers, but I will try to put this all into context. Defining Anti-Aging Anti-aging now has a number of quite different common meanings and connotations, each of which is championed by a particular group or loose coalition of interests. In the scientific community anti-aging research refers exclusively to slowing, preventing, or reversing the aging process. In the medical and reputable business community, anti-aging medicine means the early detection, prevention, and treatment of age-related diseases. In the wider business community - which includes a great many fraudulent or frivolous ventures - anti-aging is a valuable brand and a demonstrated way to increase sales. Why Can't They All Just Get Along?
Supercentenarian Research Foundation Main Page Top Ten Life Extension Drugs Members often ask us to tell them which life extension nutrients and drugs we consider most important. They ask us because of the vast number of nutrient and drug products available through The Foundation--a number that is constantly increasing as we come across exciting new products. Members want us to provide them with a list of these products in order of importance because they cannot afford to take everything of benefit to their health, or because they don't have the time to take everything they'd like to take. We published our top ten life extension nutrient list in the August 1993 issue of Life Extension Update. We had hoped to publish our top ten life extension drug list soon afterwards, but so many new findings were coming out that we simply didn't have the time to put together such a list. Since the FDA calls natural hormones "drugs", we have included hormone replacement therapies in our top ten list. In evaluating these drugs, we considered several important criteria.
Review: The People's Guide to Health, Happiness and Longevity Reveals Life Enhancement Secrets of 12 Top Experts (NaturalNews) For the last several months, I've been collaborating with renowned author, entrepreneur and content creator Craig Pepin-Donat on a unique, high-density content program that's just been announced this week. It's called The People's Guide to Health, Happiness and Longevity, and it features twelve audio CDs of edited interviews with featured health and fitness experts, twelve more bonus reports, videos and content items, an ebook and a hardcover copy of The Big Fat Health and Fitness Lie. Together, it's an extremely content-rich collection of some of the best information that's yet been offered to the public on health, fitness and life enhancement. In this article, I review this content course and share why I think this is the top collection of immediately useful health information available today, featuring an impressive lineup of health gurus and experienced teachers. Of course, I'm biased in this review. Dr. Dr. Other experts included in the course are:
Anti-Aging Life Extension Heavy Water Could Extend Lifespan in Humans by Preventing Free Radical Damage by Mike Adams the Health Ranger Russian biochemist Mikhail Shchepinov may be on to something big. He's been developing heavy water technology and testing it on various animals to see how the substance might reduce free radical damage and extend lifespan. Although results are preliminary, one test with fruit flies showed an increased lifespan of 30 percent. Heavy water is just like H2O except that the hydrogen atoms are replaced with deuterium, making D2O. Because heavy isotopes have stronger chemical bonds, they resist oxidation far better than the lighter hydrogen molecules. And because aging is caused in part by the free radical breakdown of cellular function, heavy water should extend lifespan when consumed by humans or animals. Of course, aging involves a lot more than just free radical damage. Every time you take a pharmaceutical or eat junk food, you are accelerating your aging. I have no financial involvement with HealingWaterMachines or Chanson. Related Feature Articles:
Meat and two neutrons -- the key to a longer life Indulging in an isotope-enhanced steak or chicken fillet every now and again could add as much as 10 years to your life. Scientists have shown for the first time that food enriched with natural isotopes builds bodily components that are more resistant to the processes of ageing. The concept has been demonstrated in worms and researchers hope that the same concept can help extend human life and reduce the risk of cancer and other diseases of ageing, reports Marina Murphy in Chemistry & Industry, the magazine of the SCI. A team led by Mikhail Shchepinov, formerly of Oxford University, fed nematode worms nutrients reinforced with natural isotopes (naturally occurring atomic variations of elements). In initial experiments, worms' life spans were extended by 10%, which, with humans expected to routinely coast close to the centenary, could add a further 10 years to human life. Ageing experts are impressed with the isotopic approach. Source: Society of Chemical Industry
Research Welcome to the research area of the Shay / Wright Laboratory. Information about Dr. Shay and Dr. Wright's research into telomeres and telomerase is contained here. Specific questions (and their answers) can be found in the FAQ. Overview of Telomeres / Telomerase Aging and Telomeres Cancer and Telomeres Shay/Wright Laboratory Methods Overview of Telomeres / Telomerase Telomeres are composed of repetitive DNA sequences at the end of linear chromosomes. Cellular senescence may have evolved, in part, to protect long-lived organisms, such as humans, against the early development of cancer. In addition to the accumulation of several mutations in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, almost all cancer cells are immortal and, thus, have overcome the normal cellular signals that prevent continued division. Aging and Telomeres In contrast to tumor cells, which can divide forever (are "immortal"), normal somatic human cells have a limited capacity to proliferate (are "mortal"). Cancer and Telomeres
Sleep less, live longer? Embargoed by Archives of General Psychiatry for 4 pm (EST) Feb. 14, 2002 Sleep less, live longer? Increased Death Rate Associated With Sleeping 8 Hours or More Although it’s a common belief that 8 hours of sleep is required for optimal health, a six-year study of more than one million adults ages 30 to 102 has shown that people who get only 6 to 7 hours a night have a lower death rate. Individuals who sleep 8 hours or more, or less than 4 hours a night, were shown to have a significantly increased death rate compared to those who averaged 6 to 7 hours. Researchers from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine and the American Cancer Society collaborated on the study, which appeared in the February 15, 2002 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, a journal of the American Medical Association. Although the data indicated the highest mortality rates with long-duration sleep, the study could not explain the causes or reasons for this association. Photos of Dr.