Josh Conway

In a recent publication in PLOS One, researchers have described the metabolic effects on running in generally healthy people. A lack of activity is a known risk factor This paper begins with warnings against sedentary behavior, citing one study reporting that it is responsible for approximately 1 out of 12 early deaths in the United...

In Nature Communications, researchers have explained how epigenetic drift and disorder are associated with shorter lifespans across species. When randomness is a problem We have previously reported on research demonstrating that epigenetic clocks are most likely to be measuring noise. This paper builds on that concept, citing previous research showing that this gradual epigenetic drift...

A preprint study published on bioRxiv discusses how a species' maximum lifespan can be predicted by its epigenetics, showing that these differences are largely unaffected by interventions. Differences and similarities in mammals The researchers begin their paper with a note that bowhead whales live over a hundred times as long as shrews, even though these...

Publishing in Ageing Research Reviews, a team of researchers including Vera Gorbunova has described how a class of drugs originally used to treat HIV might be used to affect some of the hallmarks of aging. Inhibiting DNA changes DNA transcription, which transfers DNA code into the RNA that cells use to make proteins, can also...

A new paper published in Nature has described how the aging extracellular matrix makes it easier for cancer to grow. When cancer is skin deep Under normal circumstances, we lose and regain skin cells constantly. Old skin flakes away, and stem cells constantly divide and differentiate to replace it. This is a homeostatic balance, and...

Researchers publishing in Nature Aging have investigated one of the core biological reasons behind the decline of stem cells' ability to proliferate. Heterochromatin and euchromatin The genetic component of cells is comprised of two main parts: heterochromatin and euchromatin. Heterochromatin is largely silent, as it is a tightly packed mass that consists primarily of non-coding...