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Studying the Evolution of the Bat Genome, in Search of Insights into Genetic Determinants of Longevity Bats are a popular choice in the study of the comparative biology of aging because there is considerable variation in life span between closely related species, a good place to start looking for specific genes that might be important in determining species differences in life span. Further, some bat species are particularly long-lived for their small size, which is again a place to start if seeking to understand how genetics determines life span. While some inroads have been made, these are still early days in the process of building a robust set of bridges between the islands represented by the present understanding of (a) genetics, (b) cell metabolism, and (c) aspects of aging. Much remains unknown. As is the case for investigations of the biochemistry […]
https://www.fightaging.org/arc....hives/2024/11/studyi


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Commentary on a Recent Study of Metformin in Non-Human Primates The SENS Research Foundation staff here continue their series of posts on the problems with studies of metformin as a potential means to modestly slow aging. Taken as a whole, the animal data for metformin is dismal, and the human data often touted as a rationale for use of metformin is problematic. If one feels motivated to make use a small molecule drug that may act to modestly slow aging, and which has extensive existing safety data for human use in other contexts, then look to rapamycin instead, where the animal data is robust. Serious scientists have championed the diabetes drug metformin as a potential longevity therapeutic for more than two decades, but more careful scientific testing of the hypothesis over the last ten years […]
https://www.fightaging.org/arc....hives/2024/11/commen


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Transient Reprogramming in the Hippocampus is Protective in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease Efforts to produce therapies based on cellular reprogramming aim to restore cell function without changing cell state. The original reprogramming research involved the production of induced pluripotent stem cells from somatic cells via expression of the Yamanaka factors, recapturing a process that takes place in early embryonic development. Since then, researchers have found that transient, partial reprogramming can restore youthful epigenetic patterns and behaviors in aged cells without the change of state, and the question is now how to constrain this partial reprogramming activity in a useful way in a living organism. A perhaps surprisingly large fraction of the work currently taking place on cellular reprogramming is aimed at the brain and nervous system. As an example of this sort of work, researchers here show […]
https://www.fightaging.org/arc....hives/2024/11/transi


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Semaglutide Use Correlates with Reduced Alzheimer's Risk in Type 2 Diabetes Patients Near all patients exhibiting type 2 diabetes have the condition as a result of being overweight. Losing weight will improve the diabetic metabolism; studies have shown that type 2 diabetes is reversible even into fairly late stages. The primary outcome of taking GLP-1 receptor agonists such as semaglutide is weight loss. Excess visceral fat in individuals who are overweight or obese contributes to chronic inflammation and a variety of other mechanisms that are known to accelerate the onset and progression of age-related disease. The brace of recent papers lauding GLP-1 receptor agonists as treatments for age-related disease, focusing heavily on changes in cellular biochemistry in their discussions of the topic, are really just a new way of advocating for the evident benefits of weight loss […]
https://www.fightaging.org/arc....hives/2024/10/semagl


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Evidence for Transposons to be Important in Differences in Dog Longevity by Breed Inadvertent and deliberate breeding programs in domesticated animals have engineered great diversity into single species. Different breeds of dogs exhibit radically different life spans, for example, and this natural experiment may allow some insight into the relative importance of various mechanisms of aging. Research suggests that transposon activity is an important factor in determining the longevity of a dog breed, as outlined here. Transposons are relics of ancient viral infections, DNA sequences capable of hijacking cell machinery to copy themselves across the genome. In youth, transposon activity is suppressed, but with advancing age their activity increases as a consequence of epigenetic changes, acting as a source of mutational damage and disruption of cell activities. Within a species, larger individuals often have shorter lives and higher […]
https://www.fightaging.org/arc....hives/2024/10/eviden


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