Aging

A new discovery contradicts the prevailing theory that aging is a buildup of tissue damage akin to rust in some metals, and implies science might eventually halt or even reverse the ravages of age. Specific genetic instructions drive aging in worms, report researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The researchers examined the regulation of aging in C. elegans, a millimeter-long nematode worm whose simple body and small number of genes make it a useful tool for biologists. The worms age rapidly: their maximum life span is about two weeks. The researchers examined the…

According to a study conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, older people who did endurance exercise training for about a year ended up with metabolically much younger hearts. The researchers also showed that by one metabolic measure, women benefited more than men from the training. The researchers measured heart metabolism in sedentary older people both at rest and during administration of dobutamine, a drug that makes the heart race as if a person were exercising vigorously. At the start of the study, they found that in response to the increased energy demands…

SAN JOSE, California, July 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Micrel Inc., (Nasdaq: MCRL), an industry leader in analog, high bandwidth communications and Ethernet IC solutions, today launched a new 4.25Gbps FP/DFB Laser Diode Driver. The SY88422L is a single 3.3V supply, small form-factor laser driver capable of delivering up to 90mA modulation current and 100mA bias current. This driver, in combination with Micrel's MIC3002 controller and SY88403L 4.25G limiting post amplifier, is an ideal solution for intermediate-reach and long-reach SFF, SFP, and LX-4 module designs in multi-rate MAN, WAN, SAN and LAN…

A group of scientists who set out to study sex pheromones in a tiny worm found that the same family of pheromones also controls a stage in the worms' life cycle, the long-lived dauer larva. The findings in Nature represent the first time that reproduction and lifespan have been linked through so-called small molecules. Where scientists once focused on DNA and proteins as the major players in an organism's biology, they are now realizing that smaller, but more structurally diverse chemicals - simply called "small molecules" - are a significant part of a living thing's biology. "They're as…

Carbon dioxide has been getting a bad rap for the last few years, what with "Waterworld" and the IPCC's preference for French nuclear plants, but laser resurfacing appears to be an effective long-term treatment for facial wrinkles, according to a report in the July/August issue of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery. So at least aging rich women will look good when the planet dies. The carbon dioxide laser vaporizes water molecules inside and outside of cells, causing thermal damage to the surrounding tissue, the authors write as background information in the article. In response to this…

EGHAM, England, July 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals (P&GP) welcome the new Final Appraisal Determination (FAD) Guidance for the primary and secondary prevention of osteoporosis from NICE. The revised NICE FAD recommends risedronate - alongside etidronate - as the first alternative treatment option to generic alendronate for postmenopausal women who are unable to comply with the special administration instructions, have a contraindication to, or are intolerant of alendronate (and also meet certain criteria such as BMD T- scores (a measurement of Bone Mineral…

An aging population means that neurodegeneration, such as Alzheimer’s disease, is one of the major health problems in the developed world. One of the causes of neurodegeneration is a modification to the protein ‘tau’, which helps to maintain the stability of neurones in the brain, causing them to form aggregates termed ‘tangles’. These diseases, or ‘tauopathies’ are believed to be caused by a form of the protein tau which has been excessively modified with phosphate. Researchers at the University of York and Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia say they have designed an…

NAPA, California, July 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Senetek PLC (OTC Bulletin Board: SNKTY), a Life Sciences company engaged in the development of technologies that target the science of healthy aging, today announced termination of the Invicorp(R) License Agreement with Ardana Bioscience Limited ("Ardana"). The Agreement was a license to manufacture, market, sell and distribute Invicorp(R) in Europe and was terminated pursuant to the Company's contractual rights, precipitated by Ardana's entry into voluntary administration on June 27, 2008. Mr. Frank Massino, Senetek's Chairman and Chief Executive…

Almost fifty percent of people over the age of 85 have Alzheimer’s disease, an illness that is not considered part of the normal aging process by the U.S. National Institute on Aging. Statistics on the NIA website also reveal that there is no cure for the degenerative disease. Recently, according to scientists at University of York and Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, tricking the brain into halting the degeneration of neurons could be a dramatic step in finding a remedy for neurodegenerative diseases—especially Alzheimer’s disease. Research in the latest issue of Nature…

Do men who have more sex get less erectile disfunction(ED) or are studies skewed because men with erectile disfunction report having less sex? It's hard to say but the message is clear; have more sex. Having intercourse more often may also help prevent the development of erectile dysfunction. A study in The American Journal of Medicine reports that researchers have found that men who had intercourse more often were less likely to develop ED. Analyzing a five-year study of 989 men aged 55 to 75 years from Pirkanmaa, Finland, the investigators observed that men reporting intercourse less than…