longevity tagged posts

Researchers at The University of Queensland have found an anti-ageing function in a protein deep within human cells.

Associate Professor Steven Zuryn and Dr Michael Dai at the Queensland Brain Institute have discovered that a protein called ATSF-1 controls a fine balance between the creation of new mitochondria and the repair of damaged mitochondria.

Mitochondria, with their own DNA, produce energy within cells to power biological functions but the toxic by-products of this process contribute to the rate at which the cell ages.

“In conditions of stress, when mitochondrial DNA has been damaged, the ATSF-1 protein prioritises repair which promotes cellular health and longevity,” Dr Zuryn said.

As an analogy, Dr Zuryn likened the relationship to a race car needing...

For the first time, researchers have shown that reduced oxygen intake, or “oxygen restriction,” is associated with longer lifespan in lab mice, highlighting its anti-aging potential. Robert Rogers of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, US, and colleagues present these findings in a study published May 23rd in the open access journal PLOS Biology.

Research efforts to extend healthy lifespan have identified a number of chemical compounds and other interventions that show promising effects in mammalian lab animals— for instance, the drug metformin or dietary restriction. Oxygen restriction has also been linked to longer lifespan in yeast, nematodes, and fruit flies. However, its effects in mammals have been unknown.

To explore the anti-aging...

Researchers from the National Institute on Aging (NIA)-funded Interventions Testing Program recently reported the discovery of multiple candidate genes that influence longevity...