from the Herodotus-may-have-been-on-to-something dept.
New study identifies molecular aging 'midlife crisis'
Working with first author Jamie Timmons, Ph.D., of King's College London and Stirling University Science Park, United Kingdom, and an international group of researchers on human aging, Dr. Wahlestedt made a striking observation: Key molecular programs known to promote longevity do not last beyond midlife.
The study provides a possible new reason why the human disease burden increases so sharply from the sixth decade of life onward as health-protective mechanisms disappear. Which raises the question: If one wishes to boost these established "anti-aging" programs with drugs, nutrients, or lifestyle choices, is it too late to start by the time you reach your 60s? Possibly, said Dr. Wahlestedt — at least if you hope to benefit fully from such interventions.
"For over a decade, it has been clear that key biochemical events regulate the longevity of small short-lived animals such as worms, flies, and mice, but these mechanisms had not been observed to be active in humans," Dr. Wahlestedt said. "In this international clinical and genomic study, we report for the first time that humans use these same biochemical pathways during aging. Surprisingly, however, humans appear to stop using these pathways from about 50 years of age onward. Therefore, how long and how 'hard' each person regulates these pathways may influence human lifespan."
[...] "We've demonstrated that the most valid of 'anti-aging' programs are naturally active in humans and for some reason stop when we reach our 50s," Dr. Wahlestedt said. "This not only provides a specific time window to now study human aging, it also indicates that these established anti-aging strategies may no longer be effective (if too active there can be side effects), and so new approaches will be needed in long-lived humans."
How old are your organs? To scientists' surprise, organs are a mix of young and old cells
Scientists once thought that neurons, or possibly heart cells, were the oldest cells in the body. Now, Salk Institute researchers have discovered that the mouse brain, liver and pancreas contain populations of cells and proteins with extremely long lifespans—some as old as neurons. The findings, demonstrating "age mosaicism," were published in Cell Metabolism on June 6, 2019. The team's methods could be applied to nearly any tissue in the body to provide valuable information about lifelong function of non-dividing cells and how cells lose control over the quality and integrity of proteins and important cell structures during aging.
"We were quite surprised to find cellular structures that are essentially as old as the organism they reside in," says Salk Vice President, Chief Science Officer Martin Hetzer, senior author and professor. "This suggests even greater cellular complexity than we previously imagined and has intriguing implications for how we think about the aging of organs, such as the brain, heart and pancreas."
Longevity‐related molecular pathways are subject to midlife 'switch' in humans (open, DOI: 10.1111/acel.12970) (DX)
Age Mosaicism across Multiple Scales in Adult Tissues (DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2019.05.010) (DX)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 19 2019, @05:07PM (9 children)
As cell lineages accumulate errors the organism wants to turn of this "anti-aging" stuff so that they die off before becoming cancerous...
(Score: 4, Interesting) by takyon on Wednesday June 19 2019, @05:34PM (8 children)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertility#Female_fertility [wikipedia.org] (see following section)
Fertility rates drop, and pregnancies have increased risk of birth defects before age 50. Then cancer rates end up skyrocketing among the elderly despite the anti-aging switch off.
If you are right, we just need to focus on eliminating cancer (with nanobots) and then we can flip the anti-aging switch.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 19 2019, @06:43PM (7 children)
The way to do this is check for aneuploidy, or even better, the chromosomal instability that leads to it (some ok cells are aneuploid). How are nanobots going to do this non-destructively?
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday June 19 2019, @08:30PM (6 children)
The ideal nanobot would be able to enter into cells without damaging them, read DNA, make corrections to DNA if feasible, destroy cancerous cells, destroy pathogens and parasites, and remove toxins/accumulated waste products. It might require multiple types/sizes of nanobots instead of all-in-one. Get a trillion of them injected, and periodic injections to boost the amount if they are pooped out or otherwise lost.
I don't see how anything less than that is going to allow for people to live "young" and healthy indefinitely (hundreds or thousands of years). Maybe you could grow new limbs and organs and surgically replace them all periodically, with the exception of the brain.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 19 2019, @11:02PM (3 children)
Well, that's not happening any time soon.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday June 19 2019, @11:12PM (2 children)
Check back in 50 years.
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(Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday June 19 2019, @11:43PM
I'll come back just to haunt you, you better remember this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 20 2019, @12:18AM
It would be far easier to substitute synthetic organs than what you are proposing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 21 2019, @10:31AM (1 child)
Better not use it on old people, might end up destroying 10% of their cells...
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday June 21 2019, @11:37AM
It could refer to a digital reference genome (with corrections or changes made in advance, since any cell you sequence will have some errors). If not stored in the nanobot, it could be transmitted wirelessly.
If not digital, maybe some of the nanobots could carry actual synthesized DNA strands, with extra error correcting codes added (there are 2-4 extra bases [wikipedia.org] that could be used to help this).
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Wednesday June 19 2019, @06:27PM (6 children)
And get run over by a bus
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 19 2019, @06:55PM
I always wondered if my youthful clean living would be a help later on...or if I was missing good times by not participating in the excesses of some of my crazier peers. Looks like I've got a shot at having the last laugh (turning 65 later this year, currently healthy).
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 19 2019, @06:57PM
Is the bus self-driving? That's progress.
(Score: 2) by Hartree on Wednesday June 19 2019, @07:43PM (3 children)
"Live forever" means the bus must not kill you.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday June 19 2019, @10:09PM (2 children)
That would suck as curse.
Get thoroughy splatted by a bus when too old to recover, yet live forever.
(Score: 2) by Hartree on Wednesday June 19 2019, @11:16PM (1 child)
They had something similar in the anime The Ancient Magus Bride. One of the characters (Cartaphilus) couldn't die, but that didn't stop the decay and injury that came with so much time.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 20 2019, @12:59AM
Which sounds a lot like Tithonus [wikipedia.org] from the Greek myths, or the Struldbrugs from Gulliver’s Travels.
(Score: 5, Funny) by Thexalon on Wednesday June 19 2019, @08:28PM (2 children)
I've always thought the path to healthy life was exercise. And based on that, I've chosen to regularly exercise my digestive tract, pancreas, and especially my liver.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 19 2019, @08:52PM (1 child)
I regularly exercise a different organ.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 19 2019, @09:35PM
And for those with a touch of hypochondria, worrying about all your failing parts is an organ recital.