Dear Future Centenarian,
Bill Andrews sent me an interesting article about life extension. Bill is CEO of Sierra Sciences, where they screen compounds for their effect on activating telomerase. You might remember that telomerase is the enzyme that regulates telomere length, and telomeres are the protective tips of your chromosomes that gradually shorten as your cells divide. Lengthening shortened telomeres appears to reestablish your youth and potentially let you live a lot longer.
Doing that is a bit tricky, but Sierra Sciences is making progress. A big part of the solution to aging is understanding our genes and influencing their activity. First, it’s necessary to identify the ones which affect aging.
This month, the New York Post and The Times of London published the article “Found: genes that let you live to 100,” detailing longevity research at Leiden University.
Leiden University had previously published research on the physiological differences between centenarians and the rest of the population, finding that centenarians metabolize fats and glucose differently than the general population; that their skin ages more slowly; and that they have a lower prevalence of heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension. They also appear to have genetic protection against the effects of smoking and poor diet habits.
Now, the group has analyzed the genomes of these centenarians and found a suite of genes that are statistically much more common in centenarians than in the general population. The hope is that these genes can be used as drug discovery targets, and that one or more drugs can be developed that will afford us all the same protection against disease and environmental damage that centenarians enjoy. The research itself is due to be published later this year.
Many other researchers are identifying aging-related genes as well. Michael Rose at the University of California at Irvine, for example, has already discovered what could be hundreds of them, with more on the way. Next step is developing drugs that tweak them. This step is underway as you read this.
Donate to the Maximum Life Foundation to do your part to advance the field anti aging research.
Long Life,
David Kekich
