Aging

Humans have a “natural” lifespan of around 38 years, according to a new method we have developed for estimating the lifespans of different species by analyzing their DNA. Extrapolating from genetic studies of species with known lifespans, we found that the extinct woolly mammoth probably lived around 60 years and bowhead whales can expect to enjoy more than two and a half centuries of life. Our research, in Scientific Reports, looked at how DNA changes as an animal ages – and found that it varies from species to species and is related to how long the animal is likely to live. The mystery of…

The holiday season brings up memories and emotions for people of all ages, but elders are often overlooked. This time of year also can provide an opportunity to become more alert to signs of elder abuse, aware of how to help and available to begin sincere conversations with older adults about their perceptions of abuse and the remedies they recommend. The World Health Organization estimates that one in six older adults worldwide is a victim of elder abuse. As the global population grows grayer, this issue is only expected to increase. There are now more adults age 65 or older than there are…

Patients with Werner Syndrome show early signs of aging, including grey hair and wrinkled skin. They live on average about 45 years. It affects around 1 in 200,000 people in the U.S. but in Japan it is 1 in 40,000.  Why the difference?  That is a mystery, like much of the disease. Since the underlying mechanisms are unknown there is no real treatment or cure, but a new study found that in banana flies and C. elegans worms with the equivalent of the syndrome that the dietary supplement nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) prolonged life and reduced age-related diseases like…

Though age is the big risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, an analysis of Swedish twins has led some to believe that half of individual differences in Alzheimer's disease risk may be environmental. Chemists, toxicologists, and biologists note that we would have gone extinct long ago if our bodies had not been able to absorb, metabolize, ignore, or excrete trace substances but since 2005, when a new salvo against public trust in the modern world was opened, there has been talk that an "exposome" can cause all kinds of diseases. Everything you are exposed to, your environment, can cause cancer…

It was quite unlike any other acceptance speech of the UEFA President’s award. In a rather philosophical address before the Champion’s League draw in Monaco, former football player and actor Eric Cantona claimed: “Soon the science will not only be able to slow down the ageing of the cells, soon the science will fix the cells to the state, and so we become eternal.” But what was he actually talking about and does it hold up? In the context, the statement seemed out of place, perhaps even slightly mad. There’s pathos in seeing aged sportsmen too – once sublime athletes now reduced to a snail’s…

Aspirin is fine for headaches but like much of epidemiological correlation that suggests cause and effect, link aspirin to fewer heart attacks has been nothing but a subsidy for companies. New results of the ASPREE trial presented today at ESC Congress 2019 show it doesn't help older people even if they are in the highest risk of cardiovascular disease. In America, where we have created pre-diabetes to try and convince people they are already ill and need medication, an aspirin regimen is common, due to belief it helps prevent cardiovascular disease. That is not the case in Europe for…

Exercise is obviously physically beneficial and there are claims it also releases happiness-inducing hormones - and it may work that way for a few but if you are suffering from depression the last thing you need is someone in a Live Love Laugh shirt asking if you tried going for a walk. A boost to the mind for older people is not so easy to dismiss. A new study found that a single bout of exercise improves cognitive functions and working memory in some older people. In experiments that included physical activity, brain scans, and working memory tests, the researchers also found that…

Will beer and fights become the newest health craze? Though the stereotype of Australian men is the tough, beer-drinking Alpha - they popularized running face-first while rappelling down cliffs among armies across the world - but they must live pretty health lives because they lead the world in longevity. Australian men, on average, live to 74.1. And women are doing well also. Only Switzerland surpasses the land down under for females.  Lagged Cohort Life Expectancy Using data from 15 countries across Europe, North America and Asia with high life expectancies, they grouped people by year…

For most aging people, their 90s are the most perilous time. But if you live to be 105, your chances of living to 110 basically level out after declining when people reach their 90s. A new study found that Italian women born in 1904 who reached age 90 had a 15 percent chance of dying within the next year, and six years, on average, to live, and if they made it to 95, their odds of dying within a year increased to 24 percent and their life expectancy from that point on dropped to 3.7 years. But data from the Italian National Institute of Statistics shows the death trajectories of 3,836 Italian…

A new position statement suggests resistance training should be considered vital to improving the health and longevity of senior citizens. The statement makes recommendations for successful resistance training, or exercise focused on building muscle endurance, programs for older adults.  When you poll people about living past 100 years old, few respond positively. It could be loss of friends and family, physical and cognitive decline, loss of independence and poor quality of life. If physical decline were mitigated, people may not be able to live longer, but they might live better. The…