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On Methionine Restriction
Levels of the essential amino acid methionine in the diet appear to be involved in generating the beneficial effects of calorie restriction on health and longevity. Some portion of the resulting changes in the operation of metabolism is based on sensing low levels of methionine. Show More Summary
Be Dubious About Longevity Hotspots
"Cui bono?", "to whose benefit?", is a question that should never be far from mind. It is rarely the case that the loudest threads in our grand, connected cultural conversation represent the best, the most useful, or the most virtuous of what is possible. Show More Summary
Amphibian Species with a Chemical Defence Live Longer
When it comes to evolutionary influences on longevity, the evidence supports the idea that species with a high mortality rate due to external causes (e.g. being eaten) will tend to be short-lived. There is no evolutionary pressure to...Show More Summary
Children of Long-Lived Parents Resistant to Dementia
Some degree of human longevity is genetic rather than the result of environment and lifestyle choice; researchers have guessed that perhaps 25% of variations are genetic, but this is hardly a firm number. It appears to be the case that survival at extreme old age is more influenced by genetic variations than it is in early old age, for example. Show More Summary
Early or Late Retirement?
For all my life, 65 was the traditional retirement age. In the United States, that number came into general use for this purpose when Social Security was created in 1935, and 65 was set then as the age to receive...
Fight Aging! Newsletter, May 13th 2013
FIGHT AGING! NEWSLETTER May 13th 2013 The Fight Aging! Newsletter is a weekly email containing news, opinions, and happenings for people interested in aging science and engineered longevity: making use of diet, lifestyle choices, technology, and proven medical advances to live healthy, longer lives. Show More Summary
ELDER MUSIC: Sleepless Nights
This Sunday Elder Music column was launched in December of 2008. By May of the following year, one commenter, Peter Tibbles, had added so much knowledge and value to my poor attempts at musical presentations that I asked him to...
9 Types of Compliments and Why They Work (or Not)
It is wonderful to receive a true compliment, but confusing and perhaps annoying to receive one that fails to hit the mark. Psychology’s research on the topic is surprisingly a bit scattered on the topic, but putting it all together, these 9 tips will help you get, and give compliments that are sure to please. read more
INTERESTING STUFF – 11 May 2013
OLD PEOPLE DRIVING Two-and-a-half years ago, I showed you a clip from a 24-minute documentary about three oldest old people – near centenarians – driving. Here it is again: This week the producer, Shaleece Haas, emailed to tell me one...
Comments on Rapamycin and Metformin
Three of the better known efforts to create a drug that modestly slows the rate of aging are centered on the following items: Resveratrol analogs that target sirtuins Rapamycin analogs that target mTOR Metformin Of these, ways to manipulate...Show More Summary
New: Hospital Price Transparency
Remember last February when we discussed Steve Brill's illuminating (and infuriating) results of his investigation into hospital pricing? Now, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (which administers Medicare and Medicaid) for the first time ever, has released data...
The Present State of Artificial Retinas
Retinal implants that can provide a crude substitute for vision in some forms of blindness are a work in progress at this time, but the path ahead seems fairly clear: Some people with artificial retinas can read large letters, see slow-moving cars, or identify tableware. Show More Summary
The State of Electromechanical and Bioartifical Organs
An article on the development of prosthetic organs, a field that continues to provide competition for regenerative medicine: Proponents of biological organ replacements have recently been encouraged by the development of 3D tissue printing,...Show More Summary
Parabiosis Points to GDF-11 as a Means to Reverse Age-Related Cardiac Hypertrophy
Parabiosis involves joining the circulatory systems of two animals. This is of interest for a number of studies in which old mice and young mice are linked together, known as heterochronic parabiosis. The young mice acquire a littleShow More Summary
“I'm a Sexually Liberated Woman, Finally - at Age 80”
Regarding what you will read below, I am torn equally between unbridled admiration and wretched jealousy. This the kind of writing, particularly about aging, that makes me want to just give up what I do here. This gorgeous essay, which...
Insights into Inflammaging
In later years the immune system falls into a malfunctioning state of overactivation and ineffectiveness, generating damaging chronic inflammation while at the same time failing to defend against pathogens and destroy damaged cells.Show More Summary
The Complement System and Rheumatoid Arthritis
Autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis are one of the few remaining classes of condition where little can be done for many sufferers at this time, and where researchers still know comparatively little about specific causative mechanisms. Show More Summary
Baby Boomers and the Social Web: The Revolutionary Powers of Online Networking
The Internet provides Boomers with the most potent medium in history to effect change, nearby and far away. Social networks are no longer merely local and temporal but rather global and eternal. We have daily opportunities to influence hundreds, thousands or even millions with a single Tweet, Facebook post, or Linked-In update. Show More Summary
Transgenic Mice Expressing Human MTH1 Live Longer
New ways to extend mouse life span arrive at a steady pace these days. It's all largely genetic engineering to alter the operation of metabolism in various ways, and the results help to shed light on the roles of specific genes and on the way in which metabolism and environment together determine the pace of aging. Show More Summary
