September 21, 2021

ICMT Inhibition as an Approach to Treating Progeria

Progeria is a rare genetic condition in which cells throughout the body become misshapen, dysfunctional, and damaged due to the accumulation of a broken form of the structural protein lamin A, called progerin. This produces outcomes that in some ways resemble accelerated aging. Aging is, after all, the accumulation of […]
September 20, 2021

Exercise and Epigenetics in Neurodegeneration

It is indisputably the case that regular exercise and maintenance of physical fitness into later life lowers the incidence and slows the progression of neurodegenerative disease. One can write any number of reviews akin to today's open access paper, walking through the evidence for cellular pathways involved in neurodegeneration to […]
September 19, 2021

A View of Recent Thought on the Amyloid Cascade Hypothesis of Alzheimer's Disease

Biochemistry is complex, and particularly so in the brain. The amyloid cascade hypothesis of Alzheimer's disease essentially states that slow aggregation of amyloid-β over years causes the onset of later and much more severe stages of Alzheimer's disease, meaning the chronic inflammation in brain tissue and tau aggregation that kills […]
September 19, 2021

A Short Tour of the Senescence-Associated Secretory Phenotype

Senescent cells accumulate with age, but are never more than a tiny fraction of somatic cells in most tissues, even in very late life. Senescent cells nonetheless cause considerable harm via the signals that they produce, the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). These signals provoke chronic inflammation, harmful remodeling of tissue, […]
September 18, 2021

Scientists found a way to improve immune response against skin cancer

Skin cancer is a treatable condition and immunotherapies can be very effective. But even our novel medicine can be improved. A team of researchers led by the University of Birmingham found that skin cancer patients may have better prognosis if their immune system is empowered. T cells just need to […]
September 18, 2021

Long Term Calorie Restriction in Rats Slows Muscle Fiber Atrophy with Aging

Muscle mass and strength declines with age, leading to sarcopenia and contributing to frailty. Many distinct mechanisms are thought to be involved, from stem cell inactivity to chronic inflammation. Most of these mechanisms are favorably impacted by the sweeping metabolic changes induced by the practice of calorie restriction. The study […]
September 17, 2021

Resolving protein errors could lead to healthier and longer lives

DNA defects are linked to cancer and may be primary reasons for aging. However, scientists argue that protein errors are responsible for some negative health changes as well. Researchers at UCL conducted experiments with simple model organisms and found that correcting protein production errors leads to improvements in both health […]