Everything relates to everything else – at least in the science of longevity

I have buried myself in the biomolecular/genetics/medical research literature during the last week, driving myself somewhat nuts in the process.  My original objective was to research what is known now relating to autoimmune diseases and possible molecular therapies for them.  I also wanted to see what insight I could get as to the impacts of some of the central supplements in my anti-Aging firewalls Treatise on people with autoimmune diseases, scleroderma and SLE (Lupus) in particular.  I found my research veering off in all kinds of unexpected directions.  I don’t have all the answers I was looking for but learned several other things in the process.  As usual I capture relevant references, articles and abstracts, on my hard drive as I encounter them and carefully read and try to digest them for new information.  I separate these materials into categories including Gene Activation, Cancer-Related, Nf-Kappa-B, Sirtuins, Stem-Cell Related, Apoptosis, Cell-cycle Basics, Ink4a/P16, P53, Neurogenesis, Telomerase-Related, Supplements, Auto-Immune Diseases, etc.  This time I could not stay on one track and I found myself adding references to each of these categories, often pursuing scientific byways that led nowhere or that that folded back on each other.  Starting with autoimmune diseases I found the expression of NF-kappaB is profoundly implicated in them as is apoptosis.  Turning to NF-kappaB and apoptosis, I was led into the world of cancer research, cell cycle basics and the apoptotic protein factors like P53, INK4a, and bcl-family proteins.  These n turn are wrapped up with telomerase activation, sirtuins, stem cell proliferation and neurogenesis.  And all of these relate to the suggestions I have made in the Anti-Aging Firewalls.  The bad news is that there is an incredibly complex maze out there that is for the most part still unexplored.  The good news is that there is a unity in the underlying science.  It seems, for example, that the same biochemical factors that determine life and death of stem cells apply more or less equally to cancer cells. Research in autoimmune diseases, cancers, stem cells, epigenetics and longevity powerfully support each other.  Comprehending this maze is painfully slow, but it is likely that answers for some things will also provide answers for lots of other important things.  Decoding what makes for longevity is not different than decoding what makes for life itself.  When I get impatient with my progress I have to remember that and remain humble in front of the task. — Vince