lifespan tagged posts

Here’s a reason for men to eat their lima beans -If research in male fruit flies holds up, it might help you live longer. New research suggests that oral administration of prunetin, found in lima beans, increased climbing activity and reduced glucose levels in male fruit flies but not in females. Prunetin is a plant-derived compound that belongs to the isoflavone group.

“Our study provides novel insights into plant bioactive research and suggests a potential to combat aging comparatively simple by the intake of a plant bioactive,” said Anika E. Wagner, Ph.D. “Further studies in mammalian species/humans are needed to validate initial data which were generated in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster.”

To make their discovery, scientists separated fruit flies according to sex prior to ...

Life-extending hormone bolsters the body’s immune function. Credit: Yale University

A hormone that extends lifespan in mice by 40% is produced by specialized cells in the thymus gland, according to a new study by Yale School of Medicine researchers. The team also found that increasing the levels of this hormone, called FGF21, protects against the loss of immune function that comes with age. The study’s findings have future implications for improving immune function in the elderly, for obesity, and for illnesses such as cancer and type-2 diabetes.

When functioning normally, the thymus produces new T cells for the immune system, but with age, the thymus becomes fatty and loses its ability to produce new T cells...