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This Anti-Aging Protein Could Be Targeted to Rejuvenate Our Immune Cells

Summary: Scientists discover that the anti-aging protein SIRT1 could be targeted to rejuvenate T cells in our aging immune systems. [Author: Brady Hartman] This article first appeared on LongevityFacts.com. Follow us on Reddit | Google+ | Facebook.

Anti-aging proteins in the sirtuin family have long been shown to protect against age-related diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neurodegeneration. A new research study by scientists at the Gladstone Institutes now reveals that the protein called SIRT1 could also be targeted to rejuvenate aging immune system cells. SIRT1 is commonly known for being activated by naturally occurring substances found in red wine.

In the new study, published Wednesday in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, the researchers found that SIRT1 is also involved in how immune system cells develop with age. The Gladstone scientists wanted to find out how the anti-aging protein SIRT1 affects the immune cells known as cytotoxic T cells. Also called killer T cells, these cells are highly specialized guardians of the immune system, and their role is to kill cancer cells, damaged cells, or those cells infected by a virus. More specifically, a cytotoxic T cell is a type of white blood cell and also a type of lymphocyte. To treat tumors, these can be separated from other blood cells, grown in a laboratory, and then given to a patient to kill cancer cells. Melanie Ott, a senior author of the new study, and a Gladstone Senior Investigator said.

Snake Oil and Continued Ill Health – Faustian Bargains

We wanted to draw attention to an interesting paper that we saw today; this one argues that there are two broad Faustian bargains that people make while attempting to live longer. The first involves questionable products, and the second involves treating the symptoms of aging rather than the cause.

The First Faustian Bargain – Anti-aging

The first bargain is the promise made by the “anti-aging” industry, the supplement sellers who do not state outright but strongly imply that their elixirs could add years to your life. We have all seen the supplement blends with fancy names that often contain a mixture of compounds that we could obtain separately at far lower cost. These supplements are marketed as miracles, while their ingredients are only supported by mouse studies or sometimes not even that.

Older men need more protein to maintain muscles

The amount of protein recommended by international guidelines is not sufficient to maintain muscle size and strength in older men, according to a new study.

Researchers say their findings mean should aim to have high quality at every meal.

The size of our skeletal muscles – the muscles we use to move our body – and our ability to perform everyday tasks naturally decline with age from the around the fifth decade. Severe loss can lead to frailty, loss of independence and a greater risk of dying.

170813 RAADfest final panel

On August 13, 2017, during the final day at RAADfest 2017.

Q&A session with an extraordinary group of gerontologists, futurists, speakers, scientists and advocates of Radical Life Extension (RLE):

Panelists from left to right: Aubrey De Grey, Bernadeane, Bill Andrews, Bill Faloon, Natasha Vita-More, Jim Strole, José Luis Cordeiro, Neal VanDeree and Liz Parrish.

David Kekich joined the panel via web conference media, and Joe Bardin served as moderator (seated at the very left of the panel)

Why Longer Lives Thanks to Science Will Probably Not Create Cultural Stagnation

You probably know the quote by Steve Jobs saying that death is life’s single best invention because it gets rid of the old and makes room for the new. This view is the core of another fairly common objection to rejuvenation, codename “cultural stagnation”.

Wouldn’t all those rejuvenated people, however physically young, be always old people “inside”, and drag everyone down with them into their anachronistic, surpassed ways of thinking, making it harder for fresh ideas to take hold, ultimately hindering social progress and our growth as a species? Maybe it’d be best not to take the risk, forget rejuvenation, and be content with old age as it is.

Well, try explaining to your grandfather that the reason he has to put up with heart disease is that we’re afraid people his age may all become troublemakers when you let them live too long.

We are happy to announce Dr. Michele Calos as a speaker for the 2018 Undoing Aging Conference

Dr. Calos’s work has inspired us for over a decade: she has pioneered a radically novel approach to gene therapy that has the potential to overcome all the key obstacles that have held that field back for so long. We are delighted to welcome her to Berlin to discuss the latest advances in this technology.

https://www.undoing-aging.org/news/dr-michele-calos-to-speak…aging-2018

3 Ways Science Might Help You to Live Longer

Today, we take a look at three key emerging technologies that might add extra healthy years to your life by addressing the aging processes directly to prevent or delay age-related diseases.

Senolytics – Removing aged dysfunctional cells to promote tissue regeneration

As we age, increasing amounts of our cells enter into a state known as senescence. Normally, these cells destroy themselves by a self-destruct process known as apoptosis and are disposed of by the immune system. Unfortunately, as we age, increasing numbers of these cells evade apoptosis and linger in the body.