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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
The research, published July 10 in the Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences, shows the drug mifepristone can extend the lives of two very different species used in laboratory studies, suggesting the findings may apply to other species, including human beings.
Studying one of the most common laboratory models used in genetic research -- the fruit fly Drosophila -- John Tower, professor of biological sciences, and his team found that the drug mifepristone extends the lives of female flies that have mated.
[...] During mating, female fruit flies receive a molecule called sex peptide from the male. Previous research has shown that sex peptide causes inflammation and reduces the health and lifespan of female flies.
Tower and his team, including Senior Research Associate Gary Landis, lead researcher on the study, found that feeding mifepristone to the fruit flies that have mated blocks the effects of sex peptide, reducing inflammation and keeping the female flies healthier, leading to longer lifespans than their counterparts who did not receive the drug.
The drug's effects in Drosophila appear similar to those seen in women who take it.
[...] In a scientific first, Tower and collaborators Chia-An Yen, who obtained her Ph.D. last spring from USC Dornsife College, and Sean Curran, associate professor of gerontology and biological sciences at USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and USC Dornsife College, also gave mifepristone to another common laboratory model, a small roundworm called C. elegans. They found the drug had the same life-extending effect on the mated worm.
Because Drosophila fruit flies and C. elegans worms sit on relatively distant branches of the evolutionary tree, Tower believes the similar results in such different species suggest other organisms, including humans, might see comparable benefits to lifespan.
Journal Reference:
Landis, Gary N, Doherty, Devon V, Yen, Chia-An, et al. Metabolic Signatures of Life Span Regulated by Mating, Sex Peptide and Mifepristone/RU486 in Female Drosophila melanogaster, The Journals of Gerontology: Series A (DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glaa164)
-- submitted from IRC
(Score: 3, Funny) by Bot on Thursday July 16 2020, @09:44AM (1 child)
another path to a longer life: don't have sex with fruit flies or elegant worms.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 16 2020, @01:46PM
So is this just another story of how researchers find something that causes other organisms to live longer and discover that human longevity is already optimized in a way that there is nothing further that can be done to extend our lives?
This doesn't really do us any good.
(Score: 2) by looorg on Thursday July 16 2020, @11:45AM (3 children)
I was thinking there would be more chanting, blood and pentagrams involved.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 16 2020, @03:21PM (2 children)
Nope. Just avoid females, & eternal life shall be yours.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Thursday July 16 2020, @03:55PM (1 child)
The summary implies the answer is to avoid males, not females.
Of course, what it *really* says is to avoid inflammation. And that *is* good advice. It includes lots of implied suggestions, like "be a bit underweight", and "avoid arthritis" and other such useful hints. These are known to work well statistically, if you can avoid the downsides. E.g. aspirin can suppress mild inflammation, but makes a stroke more likely.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Thursday July 16 2020, @04:59PM
Males are imflammatory?
Stay virginal. You'll live longer. Who knew the PHB might have been on to something when he asked the company nurse to help provide him with eunuch programmers!
And here I was formulating arguments that sex is good for females in particular, because they receive all kinds of endorphins and other goodies in the semen that improves their health. And why shouldn't semen have such effects, since the woman has to be healthy in order to bear children? Seems only logical. Though I could also see it being overstimulating, causing a bit of maternal sacrifice, to divert resources to potential babies. 99.9999% of the material won't ever fertilize an egg, and substantial amounts do not leak out immediately, so what therefore becomes of it all? What does it do?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 16 2020, @01:16PM
> Mifepristone rescues these effects, yielding dramatic increases in life span
For scientists: wow look we extended lifespan by a statistically significant 2%!
Joe Public: wow they doubled lifespan!
(Score: 3, Funny) by Dr Spin on Thursday July 16 2020, @01:56PM
...be very afraid!
Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 16 2020, @02:24PM (2 children)
Discovering the secret of immortality that results in women not aging after puberty will cause problems...
(The subject line-- Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan)
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday July 16 2020, @05:25PM
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Thursday July 16 2020, @10:46PM
I hate myself for getting that reference.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 16 2020, @03:59PM (1 child)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mifepristone#Medical_uses [wikipedia.org]
The latter being as follows:
Ergo: if you're a female of your species, never procreate and you'll live longer.
(Score: 2) by looorg on Thursday July 16 2020, @04:48PM
That is what tends to happen to/with the crazy spinster catladies.
(Score: 2) by leon_the_cat on Thursday July 16 2020, @05:48PM (3 children)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0531556509001922 [sciencedirect.com]
* sips tea *
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Thursday July 16 2020, @10:47PM (2 children)
Only if it's hot Earl Grey :) Seems to work for Picard anyway!
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 17 2020, @04:11AM (1 child)
Its effect seems to have limitations.
Based on his latest Star Fleet mission, I think it's safe to say he has a brain tumor. In real life.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Saturday July 18 2020, @12:26AM
It made the tumor immortal too? :(
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...