December 13, 2019
Building upon previous studies, a new study has unearthed critical facts about the basic biology behind the TORC1 pathway, identifying how caloric restriction leads to a chain of effects that activate the protein Maf1, repress RNA transcription, and slow genomic instability, which is one of the primary hallmarks of aging. A long chain of causes...
December 04, 2019
If humans ever reach an average lifespan of well over 100 years, what is going to happen? Are we going to be bored with such long lives? "Well," says Prof. Brian Kennedy of the National University of Singapore, "If you ask me: 'Do I want to have cancer at 75? Do I want have Alzheimer’s...
November 18, 2019
ResTORbio announced on Friday 15th that its current phase 3 drug trial for respiratory tract infections did not achieve its primary goal. The drug showed promise in earlier phases of testing, but sadly failed to reduce the incidence of respiratory tract infections in patients aged 65 and above. A setback for RTB101 This news has...
October 21, 2019
The Journal Club returns for a Halloween special, and this time around, Dr. Oliver Medvedik is taking an in-depth look at a recent paper showing that a combination of three drugs had a synergistic effect and increased lifespan greatly in fruit flies. The drugs all target parts of the nutrient sensing system which controls metabolism,...
July 24, 2019
Researchers have discovered a new drug that targets the mTOR pathway, which is involved in aging and metabolism. It could function as a caloric restriction mimetic, bringing about similar health benefits. The mTOR pathway The mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway is a part of metabolism and is one of the four major pathways that...
April 16, 2019
Rapamycin is a promising anti-aging therapeutic derived from a bacterium that was first found on Easter Island (it's named for Rapa Nui, the official name of Easter Island). It inhibits mTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin), thus inhibiting the immune system response that would, in some cases, lead to organ rejection. This is the on-label, FDA-approved...
