A good article covering active research at UCSF related to Klotho, hypoxia, inflammation, stem cells and caloric restriction.
Fortified stem cells. Enhanced memory. A longevity hormone. UCSF researchers are finding out whether we can cancel – or at least delay – old age.
When laboratory mice are born – pink, with their eyes shut tight – they’ve already begun to age. In about eight days, their gray-black fur starts to show. By two months, the mice are grown up but young – their coats full and shiny, their bodies slender. Like humans, they reach a natural, physical peak.
This stage doesn’t last long. They lose the ability to reproduce by their first birthday. By age 2, mice are considered older adults – the rough equivalent of 70 human years. They’re filling out in the middle. Their fur is dull and flecked with white.
But they’re not too old to change. If researchers give them a running wheel or cut their calorie intake, the mice become healthier and more energetic. The researchers aren’t particularly surprised; we have long known that certain habits are beneficial to aging bodies, including our own.
Now researchers want to understand why – and they’re making fascinating discoveries that could transform human aging and tackle a host of ailments, from heart disease to dementia. At UC San Francisco’s new Bakar Aging Research Institute (BARI), 70 scientists and clinicians are all trying to answer the same question: How can we slow, or even reverse, aging?
Full article:
