Vindication

Those of you who know me (and I suspect that that's almost everyone who bothers to glance at my little corner of the blogosphere) know that my husband frequently frets over my lack of interest in food. Not only would he like to have me spend more time concocting tempting gourmet meals--he's something of a food snob--he also thinks I would benefit from more caloric intake. However, there is increasing scientific evidence that restricting the calories a bit can help slow the effects of aging, and potentially extend lifespans. Studies with rats are shoring up that claim. So, I figure when I don't feel much like a big meal, I'm actually just jump-starting human scientific trials on the benefits of a lower calorie diet. Hey, it works for the rats. Pass the cheese, please--but just a little. I'm really not that hungry.

Wrinkles Are More Than Skin Deep

Nature.com put out a news report on Thursday that suggests that the scientific community is making progress in the quest to make us all live longer. More importantly, the research is working on making us live younger, not just extending lives, but extending the period of our lives that is free of the wrinkles and grey hair, heart disease and other things we associate with getting older.

A new study shows that cells from people over the age of 80 tend to have specific problems with the nucleus that young children's cells do not. The elderly nucleus loses its pert, rounded shape and becomes warped and wrinkled.

So apparently, as we get wrinkles so do our cells, accumulating damage, and causing them to function improperly. A specific protein appears to be at fault.

The team suggests that healthy cells always make a trace amount of an aberrant form of lamin A protein, but that young cells can sense and eliminate it. Elderly cells, it seems, cannot.

Critically, blocking production of this deviant protein corrected all the problems with the nucleus. "You can take these old cells and make them young again," Misteli says.

This suggests that drugs that do the same thing might slow or stay some symptoms of ageing.

Now, I'm actually looking forward to the day when I'm freed from this body and its limitations. I know where I'm going and will be glad to get there, when the time comes. However, as long as I'm here, as long as God sees a purpose for me being on this Earth, I wouldn't mind being as healthy, vibrant, and wrinkle-free as possible. I'm not sure I'm all that fond of the idea of taking drugs to stave off the signs of aging, but I do think the research into why we age is valuable, and hopefully more naturopathic options for treatment would become available.

Hat tip: KurzweilAI