Scientists Discover Mitochondria Control Life Span

[Devilmaypoop]

If you think life's too short, then you're not alone. A team of scientists set out to find what it would take to live a very long life and they made important discoveries that bring longer life spans much closer to reality. A new research report featured on the cover of The FASEB Journal, describes how scientists "activated" life extension in the roundworm C. elegans, and in the process discovered a new metabolic state correlating with long life.

To make this discovery, scientists compared one class of long-lived C. elegans, called the Mit mutants (which have disrupted mitochondrial electron transport chain functionality), with non-mutant wild type C. elegans. Their comparison showed significant metabolism changes, suggesting that their cellular engines had been reconfigured to run on new fuels and to make new waste products, leading to increased lifespans.

"C. elegans has provided a useful animal model for human biology," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal, "because of their relative simplicity and our understanding of the genes that control their metabolism. Helping these worms to live longer is a proof of concept; indeed much of what we now know about human aging was first worked out in these worms."

"This research on worms shows that the secret to a long life comes from how we extract energy from our food," commented Weissmann. "With any luck, we'll be able to change human life in the same direction: onward and upward!"

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1201102603.htm

I hope they can make it work soon, I wanna life up to 150 atleast

[♔Goodguy1066♔]

That's exactly what this world needs, more centenarians.

[Claudius Gothicus]

That's exactly what this world needs, more centenarians.

we need socially functioning centenarians, not those Alzheimer's ridden 80 something guys that can't even eat for themselves

[Ulyaoth]

You won't benefit from this discovery unless they use it to clone you a new body.

[Kanaric]

You won't benefit from this discovery unless they use it to clone you a new body.

I would prefer a robot body.

[Del Valle]

I would prefer a robot body.

I would prefer my own body. Anything else is just a copy of you.

[MathiasOfAthens]

Plus the human population would explode if we could live longer unless we could somehow control our sperm and eggs.

[LegionnaireX]

Plus the human population would explode if we could live longer unless we could somehow control our sperm and eggs.

This.

As long as I would like to live a long and healthy life beyond 100, unless we get a handle on our population this would not be prudent.

I never really had a problem with China's 1 child policy. Although it seems oppressive they were actually just doing what needed to be done. The downside is that a demographic shift toward the older generation may mean hard economic times in the future.

[nasher168]

How exactly could a centenarian be an "80 something"?

[removeduser_4536284751384]

if you're going to live longer you want to age slower.

50 would need to be the new 35, and 70 the new 50.

[C-Rob]

it sucks to be 20 and realize you're basically dead by 50. It also sucks that people managed to conquer entire empires by the time they were 33 and yet many of us don't even own our own home by then

I want to still have some expectation and something to strive for at 50.

[Time Commander Bob]

it sucks to be 20 and realize you're basically dead by 50. It also sucks that people managed to conquer entire empires by the time they were 33 and yet many of us don't even own our own home by then

I want to still have some expectation and something to strive for at 50.

Basically dead by 50? Only if you completely ruin your body, I doubt most 50 year olds I know would say they are "basically dead".

Extending lifespan could be very useful if people are also age more slowly as it would mean that they would be able to work for longer (although if the proportion of non-worked years to worked years was the same, then this is nullified).

As long as I would like to live a long and healthy life beyond 100, unless we get a handle on our population this would not be prudent.

Most global population growth comes from developing countries, which in all probability would be the last people to receive the benefits of an increased lifespan. Most western countries have ageing populations and some are declining in population so longer lifespans would be beneficial to them.

[Saturn]

it sucks to be 20 and realize you're basically dead by 50. It also sucks that people managed to conquer entire empires by the time they were 33 and yet many of us don't even own our own home by then

I want to still have some expectation and something to strive for at 50.

This gets me down everyday.

[Del Valle]

The real goal here is to be 20 years old for a hundred years.

[Mr. Crow]

basically if you consume less energy, your mitochondria generate less fre radicals slowing genetic damage caused by this, fairly obvious and it does not help, we don't notice the side effects in worms, but in higher life forms, it will cause loss of appetite and in general less activity, a diminished sexual urge, does not sound like a solution.

[chamaeleo]

basically if you consume less energy, your mitochondria generate less fre radicals slowing genetic damage caused by this, fairly obvious and it does not help, we don't notice the side effects in worms, but in higher life forms, it will cause loss of appetite and in general less activity, a diminished sexual urge, does not sound like a solution.

Starved lab rats live longer than well-fed lab rats, and many cultures which adhere to periodic fasting protocols have higher average longevities (and consequently lower metabolisms) than us Western fat-fatties. Toxins accumulate in fats, too, so the lean life is def the way to go.

Loss of appetite is no biggie, we're generally less active anyway, and who needs sexual urges when you're logging 10+ TWC posts a day?!?

I want to still have some expectation and something to strive for at 50.

Live fast, die trying...or simply up your post count w more complaints about how there's no time to do things.

[thegsg]

Thats interesting...

[Solid Snake]

Well, mitochondrias are, I think, the greatest thing since sliced bread, and well, there is still many things to learn from them. I´m really not surprised if we end up having contorl over our life rates and metabolism after more and more extensive research on them.

[mikil100]

This is something that has always confused me. If we have an increased metabolism, we are predisposed to die early, correct?

Well then wouldn't exercise (which is obviously good for many different reasons) be contraindicated?
Or does it have something to do with a basal metabolic rate?


Lower metabolism=easy weight gain, less body activity= larger person=less healthy person. Typical outlook on this I think.
Higher metabolism=thinner person etc etc= healthier person.

I think maybe that notion is confusing me with what I'm reading here.

[Ulyaoth]

Higher metabolism burns more fuel, causes more wear on the mitochondria. The problem is we eat too much, so low metabolism people who eat too much get fat and unhealthy.