Amy Proal/ November 21, 2025:
"Most people trying to extend their healthspans are missing a fundamental truth: aging doesn’t happen in isolation from infection. From before birth through everyday exposures, we accumulate viral, bacterial, and parasitic pathogens that can persist in our tissues and nerves for decades, quietly manipulating the systems that sustain us. These microbes are not harmless stowaways—they’re expert hackers of human biology. Persistent pathogens like herpesviruses and Toxoplasma gondii hijack our mitochondria—the cell’s energy factories—and reprogram metabolic and genetic signaling to serve their own survival. They can accelerate telomere shortening and directly interfere with longevity-related genes, driving nearly every hallmark of aging. If we want to extend human healthspan, we have to confront this hidden enemy. "
