Sheesh. The decade of the noughties ended with much less promise than it began. With double-digit unemployment and energy prices rising, 2009 has not been something that ET would phone home about, either. Yet although we look forward to new beginnings, we note this marks another year from our limited individual lifetime.
Wiki tells that aging for humans is multi-dimensional. Similar to a ten-year-old vehicle that needs another repair as soon as it leaves the shop, our bodies also begin falling apart. It can be cosmetic, such as our hair losing its color, or cellulite beginning to form. Often aging substantially reduces our mental and physical abilities.
Scientists are Changing the Definition of Old Age explains that a gene present in humans can be deactivated in other organisms to lengthen their real and usable lifetime. Consuming Less Glucose Can Prevent Cancer And Slow Human Aging advises that normal cells actually live longer when supplied with less glucose. As a bonus, pre-cancerous cells seem especially needy for glucose. Reducing the available glucose cause them to die without dividing.
Scientists have known that reducing calorie intake by roughly 30% results in longer lives and fewer age-associated illnesses. Not only does it take phenomenal willpower, it can also affect moods, temperature sensitivity, and other factors in quality of life. So for those of us that like ice cream, pastries, and other sweets, researchers are attempting to identify compounds that would mimic a restricted diet, but tolerate our normal eating habits. Call it a 'Fountain-of-Youth' pill.
A telomere is
a replicated section of DNA at the end of a chromosome that apparently
serves to protect the ends of the chromosomes from destruction. The
enzymes that duplicate DNA will halt duplication at telomeres;
otherwise the duplication would proceed past the end of the
chromosome. The telomere becomes shorter after every cell division,
functioning as countdown timer. Usually the telomere mechanism limits
cells to a fixed number of cellular divisions. There are compounds like TA-65 which activates the telomerase enzyme that inhibits
telomere shortening - hence effectively halting the aging process.
Surprisingly,
Looking Younger Than Your Age May Mean Longer Life explains there is a correlation with how you look and how long you will live. A study of Danish twins showed that the older looking twin almost always died first. Of course, appearance has a correlation with inner health, but it is interesting that appearance is an indicator of longevity.
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