Aging Matters
This essay is inspired by Dr Mercola’s announcement last week that (reading between the lines) his life and his family’s have been threatened if he doesn’t remove from his web site a peer-reviewed study demonstrating the benefits of vitamin D and zinc in prevention of the worst COVID outcomes. In the present Orwellian era, where propaganda and … Read more
The paradox: In animal models there is a consistent relationship between eating less and living longer. But studies in humans find that people who are a little overweight live longest. Last week, I introduced this paradox and offered evidence, both that lab animals live longer when they are underfed, and that humans live longer when … Read more
Caloric restriction is the gold standard life extension strategy, validated over thousands of experiments in many animal species. How can we reconcile this with consistent findings that people who are slightly overweight live longer than normal or underweight folks? The one fact that everyone in the field of aging agrees on is that animals fed … Read more
A new methylation clock works in 128 different mammal species, using the same methylation signals. This is the latest evidence that at least some of the mechanisms of aging have been conserved by evolution—strong evidence that aging has a useful function in ecology, so that natural selection actually prefers a finite, defined lifespan. Einstein taught … Read more
Just as the melody is not made up of notes nor the verse of words nor the statue of lines, but they must be tugged and dragged till their unity has been scattered into these many pieces, so with the World to whom I say Thou. — Martin Buber We creatures of the 21st Century, grandchildren of … Read more
In this article, I’m reporting on a new proteomic clock from Adiv Johnson and the Stanford lab of Benoit Lehalier a new methylation clock developed with “deep learning” algorithms by an international group from Hong Kong the advanced methylation clock developed by Morgan Levine, Len Guarente, and Elysium Health Prelude Aging clocks = algorithms that compute biological age from … Read more
This week, Deep Mind, a London-based Google company, claims to have solved the number one most consequential problem in computational biochemistry: the protein-folding problem. If true, this could be the start of something big. What does it mean, and why is it important? Let’s start with signal transduction. This is a word for the body’s … Read more
An Israeli study came out last week that has been described as rejuvenation via hyperbaric oxygen. I’m not taking it very seriously, and I owe you an explanation why. The main claim is telomere lengthening. I used to think of telomeres as the primary means by which aging is programmed, but since the Danish telomere … Read more
I am heartened that the tide seems to be turning. The Great Barrington Declaration is attracting thousands of scientists’ signatures each day. And the World Health Association’s COVID spokesperson has done an about-face and come out in opposition to lockdowns, recognizing explicitly the suffering, the poverty, and the health implications of the policy most of the … Read more
Last week, I called for scientists to come forward and make a public statement that the world’s response to COVID is not consistent with best public health practices. As if in answer to my prayer, a meeting was held at Great Barrington, MA, from which emerged this statement, signed by doctors and professors from the world’s … Read more