September 10, 2020
A short-term caloric restriction diet enhanced a DNA repair process known as non-homologous end joining. These results may partially explain how caloric restriction and similar diets increase lifespan and healthspan in a wide range of organisms. Eat less, live longer Caloric restriction – that is, reduced caloric intake without malnutrition – is one of the...
August 11, 2020
Researchers have found that CLOCK, a protein that regulates the circadian cycle of our cells, also fights cellular senescence by promoting chromatin stability [1]. Since its very beginning, life on Earth had to adapt to our planet's natural 24-hour rotation cycle. Rising to the challenge, nature invented biological mechanisms called circadian clocks (from the Latin...
July 28, 2020
A group of researchers has shown that yeast cells have two different and mutually exclusive modes of aging that seem to be interlinked. The scientists were also able to artificially induce a third mode of aging that prolongs both healthspan and lifespan. Yeast is a popular object of genomic research due to its short reproductive...
July 16, 2020
A new perspective published in Cell explains a direct link between genomic instability, one of the primary hallmarks of aging, and age-related diseases. Somatic mutations Mutation is normally explained as the driving force behind evolution, as changes in the germ lines of organisms result in beneficial and harmful mutations to organisms. The organisms with the...
July 07, 2020
A group of scientists from Colorado State University has discovered that repetitive elements (REs) in our DNA increase with aging and react to known longevity-promoting interventions [1]. Are REs genomic parasites? At the dawn of genomic research scientists were stunned to learn that as much as 95% of our genome is non-coding: it does not...
April 16, 2020
A new study published in Aging shows that metformin, a drug that has been studied for its effects on longevity, restores mitochondrial function and repairs metabolic defects in cells from people with myotonic dystrophy, a condition that shares many of the same characteristics as aging. A genetic disease that causes age-related symptoms Myotonic dystrophy is...
