extend lifespan tagged posts

Researchers tracked the health of nearly one thousand mice on a variety of diets to see if these diets would extend the mice’s lifespan. The study was designed to ensure that each mouse was genetically distinct, which allowed the team to better represent the genetic diversity of the human population. By doing so, the results are made more clinically relevant, elevating the study to one of the most significant investigations into aging and lifespan to date.

For nearly a century, laboratory studies have shown consistent results: eat less food, or eat less often, and an animal will live longer. But scientists have struggled to understand why these kinds of restrictive diets work to extend lifespan, and how to best implement them in humans...

Discovery of cellular mechanisms could open door to more effective anti-aging therapies. Scientists have identified synergistic cellular pathways for longevity that amplify lifespan fivefold in C. elegans, a nematode worm used as a model in aging research...

Highlights •Partial reprogramming erases cellular markers of aging in mouse and human cells •Induction of OSKM in progeria mice ameliorates signs of aging and extends lifespan •In vivo reprogramming improves regeneration in 12-month-old wild-type mice

In mice carrying a mutation leading to premature aging, reprogramming of chemical marks in the genome, ie epigenetic marks, reduced many signs of aging in the mice and extended their lifespan on average from 18 weeks to 24. The study suggests epigenetic changes drive the aging process, and that those changes may be malleable. “We did not correct the mutation that causes premature aging in these mice,” says Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, a professor in the Salk Institute of Biological Science’s Gene Expression Laboratory...