Monthly Archives: February 2009

Human traits and gene expression are affected by signals that can result from interaction with our environment, including what a mother eats and the social conditioning received by a young child.  Imagine a control system of biomolecular switches that can … Continue reading →

If I were to add a 15th theory of aging to this Anti-Aging Firewalls treatise, it would possibly be Misfoldings of proteins.  The basic notion is that stress often leads to the misfolding of proteins, a process that can accelerate … Continue reading →

Animals which live extraordinary long lives can provide insight regarding the various theories of aging.  The longevity of the African naked mole rat seems to fly in the face of the the oxidative damage theory of aging, for example(ref).  This little … Continue reading →

A recently reported research study seems to throw the whole the the oxidative damage theory of aging into question, at least for C. elegans, a nematode roundworm.  The researchers created a mutant species by individually knocking out five genes in … Continue reading →

Since I first drafted the Anti-Aging Firewalls treatise in May of 2008 my perspective on the Telomere shortening theory of aging has become considerably more sophisticated.  Today, in a fairly major update of the treatise I have rewritten much of … Continue reading →

I often feel like a lucky soldier participating in a long and deadly battle, a soldier whose closest comrades and friends are constantly being wounded or killed.  The battle, of course, is against the ravages of old age and the … Continue reading →

This news item is retro rather than forward looking, being concerned with life re-creation rather than life extension.  Life-extension may pose ethical problems, but how about bringing an extinct near-human species back to life?  German scientists have finished identifying the … Continue reading →

A well-written article relating mitochondrial health to the use of antioxidants and can be found here.  Mitochondria are particularly susceptible to oxidative damage and such damage is implicated in many debilitating conditions including  cardiovascular disease, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, … Continue reading →

A reported study about free radicals is radical in its conclusions.  The study was based on disabling five genes in mutant Caenorhabditis elegans worms.  The study’s authors suggest that damage due to free radicals may not be a cause of … Continue reading →

Stress may increase the rate of progression of the most malignant form of melanoma, according to a report on a study conducted in New Zeeland of 1600 people diagnosed with that disease.  Small wonder given what we know about stress … Continue reading →