Men diagnosed with early prostate cancer can safely choose active monitoring rather than surgery or radiation without cutting their lives short, according to an eagerly awaited landmark study published on Wednesday. Although research dating back to the 1970s has hinted that many prostate cancers are too slow-growing to threaten a man’s life, the new study…
Category: Aging
Study results advance ‘transposon theory of aging’
A new study increases and strengthens the links that have led scientists to propose the “transposon theory of aging.” Transposons are rogue elements of DNA that break free in aging cells and rewrite themselves elsewhere in the genome, potentially creating lifespan-shortening chaos in the genetic makeups of tissues. As cells get older, prior studies have…
Study suggests how ‘super aging’ older adults retain youthful memory abilities
Some loss of memory is often considered an inevitable part of aging, but new research reveals how some people appear to escape that fate. A study by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators examines a remarkable group of older adults whose memory performance is equivalent to that of younger individuals and finds that certain key areas…
“Dormant” Bacteria in Blood Was Just Linked to Several Diseases
Dormant bacteria in human blood may be causing inflammation, excessive clotting, and deformed protein sheets. Previously believed to be free from microbes, recent DNA sequencing has revealed that there may be around 1000 bacterial cells in each milliliter of blood. These bacteria may be triggering reactions that lead to symptoms commonly associated with stroke, heart…
6 new groups of molecules could be the key to delaying aging
A Concordia research collaboration with Idunn Technologies clears a major hurdle in the fight for longevity Hearing loss, brittle bones, sagging skin, a deteriorating mind: these are just some of the issues associated with growing old. For millennia, humans have fought the process of aging using everything from fountains of youth to pricey face creams,…
Low vitamin D among elderly associated with decline in cognition, dementia
Vitamin D insufficiency among the elderly is highly correlated with accelerated cognitive decline and impaired performance, particularly in domains such as memory loss that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, researchers with the UC Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Center and Rutgers University have found. The effect is “substantial,” with individuals with low vitamin D declining…
Peter Diamandis: We’ll Radically Extend Our Lives With New Technologies
Singularity University just concluded its 2016 Global Summit. Peter Diamandis, cofounder and executive chairman of Singularity University took to the stage to speak about the future of aging and how technology now in development is going to impact what we can do with our bodies. “We’re going to look at your genome and all of…
The Economist on Aging and Longevity
None other than the very main street “Economist” publication weighs in on the topic of healthy living, longevity, aging and caloric restriction diet. A good article discussing approaches and challenges ahead. Improvements in medicine and welfare mean that there are many more people in their 90s and 100s round the world today than there used…
Possible Alzheimer’s treatment breakthrough
An experimental drug cleared protein buildup in the brains of people with mild Alzheimer’s disease and slowed their mental decline, the results of a preliminary trial showed Wednesday. The outcome raised hopes that a treatment may finally be within reach for the memory- and independence-robbing disease, but experts cautioned against overplaying the findings. The drug,…
TED: What will be the next big scientific breakthrough?
In our busy lives, with work, home, families, we sometimes forget to pause and reflect on the age we are living in. This blog gives but a glimpse of the revolutionary science happening all around us and its implications for our future. Eric Haseltine, futurist, author, innovator, gave a brief but meaningful TED Talk focusing…
Brief rapamycin therapy in middle-aged mice extends lives
Geroscience researchers studying the biology of aging briefly treated middle-aged mice with the drug rapamycin to gauge the long-term effects of short-term therapy on health and longevity. Rapamycin, approved by the Food & Drug Administration for certain organ transplant recipients, is already known to extend life in mice and delay some age-related problems in rodents…
An MIT Scientist Claims That This Pill Is the Fountain of Youth
New York Magazine website profiles Elysium’s Basis pill and Dr. Leonard Guarente. Basis and the other pills that will likely follow it in the next five to ten years are the fruits of a scientific backwater that has been working toward this moment for a quarter-century. These drugs and supplements are aimed to be a…