The function and fate of our cells are in large part under the control of our genes.  As we being to unravel the effects of various genes on the process of longevity it becomes very important to develop way to control them. For example some genes may allow for longer lifespans.  If an individual possesses a version of that gene which is linked to shorter lifespans, it would be useful to manipulate [...]

Mutations in genes that code for nuclear laminar proteins are known to cause diseases of accelerated aging.  One such disease called Hutchinson-Gilford progeria affected children rapidly become elderly in childhood usually dying by age 13. The nuclear lamina is the envelope that surrounds and protects the cell’s DNA. It is crucial to prevent damage to DNA. Damaged DNA leads to cell dysfunction [...]

Two studies have just been published that shed light on the scientific enigma of how Alzheimer’s spreads through the brain. Alzheimer’s disease is a very common affliction of the aged, affecting 1 in 4 persons at age 80 and 1 in 2 at age 90. It progressively destroys cortical function of the brain rendering sufferers demented and robbing them of quality f life. Despite its extraordinary [...]

Oxidative stress and damage is often considered the cornerstone for development of diseases, cancer, and the aging process itself. The theory goes that metabolism of oxygen by cells leads to reactive oxygen species, or free radicals, which go on to damage the content of the cells. As the damage accumulates, the cells become cancerous or senescent, and the organism ages. Now scientists have premiered [...]

The naked mole rat is a unique animal.  It is a hairless saber-toothed rat that is cold-blooded and lives underground in total darkness.  What also makes it unique is its remarkable longevity.  Instead of living the 2 to 3 year lifespan typical of rodents, the animal can live for more than 30 years.  Not only doesn’t it display negligible senescence or aging of cells, but it never gets cancer, [...]

We think of aging as undesirable, something that inevitably occurs in all living things and that we as humans would like to avoid or eliminate altogether. The science of aging research has discovered that aging and death indeed occurs in all living things and is highly conserved across all species.  Theories to date have consistently postulated that aging and death happens due to failures [...]

Sirtuin has become known as the longevity molecule. It has long been known that caloric restriction causes animals across many species to live longer than if they eat freely. Scientists eventually determined that this effect of caloric restriction was mediated at least in part by the sirtuin gene family. The pivotal studies showed that in flatworms, when the gene was amplified they lived longer. [...]

At some point in the future we will have technology that allows for repair of cellular components damaged by aging on the fly.  We will have indwelling intracellular sensing and fixing machinery. For now we try to expand our longevity through lifestyle choices supported by scientific evidence. In the middle phase we should soon see drugs that manipulate cellular function to reduce aging. Scientists [...]

Aubrey de Grey is a biomedical gerontologist with a PhD from Cambridge who has founded SENS which stands or Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence.  This is a research think-tank and charity whose manifesto is to fund and find scientific and technological measures to allow indefinite lifespans. It is fair to assume that the cellular processes which lead to aging and death could [...]