Category Archives: Human Longevity

SAN DIEGO, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Human Longevity, Inc. (HLI), the genomics-powered, health intelligence company, announced today that the company has signed an agreement with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, which operates its biopharmaceutical business as EMD Serono in the U.S. and Canada, with the goal of pioneering the application of advanced genomics and expert analysis with machine learning to transform drug development and medical use of next generation therapeutics. As part of the agreement, the companies have started a joint pilot project to identify treatment response biomarker signatures in patients with advanced melanoma. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Human Longevity, Inc. (PRNewsFoto/Human Longevity, Inc.)

Cindy Collins, HLI CEO said, "Our agreement with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany will enable us to work together to discover novel insights that improve patient survival in melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. With more than 230,000 new cases of melanoma diagnosed worldwide each year, and rates on the rise for the last 30 years, we believe our first pilot project is of great importance for society and look forward to working with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany to impact the treatment of melanoma."

In the pilot project, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany and HLI are working together to identify treatment response biomarkers in patients with locally advanced or metastatic NRAS mutated cutaneous melanoma that preferentially respond to Merck KGaA Darmstadt, Germany's MEK1/2 inhibitor, pimasertib. To enable this goal, HLI is generating genomic sequencing data from clinical trial participants' tumor and germline and utilizing its machine learning and analytical tools and expertise to interpret and analyze this data in the context of survival and other clinical data.

HLI is building the world's largest database of genomic, phenotypic, and clinical information. HLI has sequenced approximately 40,000 high-quality genomes and is building an unparalleled database of genomic and phenotypic integrated health records. HLI's customers include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, life insurance companies, large academic medical centers, physicians and individuals.

About Human Longevity, Inc

Human Longevity, Inc. (HLI) is the genomic-based, health intelligence company empowering proactive healthcare and enabling a life better lived. HLI combines the largest database of genomic and phenotypic data with machine learning to drive discoveries and revolutionize the practice of medicine. HLI's business areas include the HLI Health Nucleus, a genomic powered clinical research center which uses whole genome sequence analysis, advanced clinical imaging and innovative machine learning, along with curated personal health information, to deliver the most complete picture of individual health; HLIQ Whole Genome and HLIQ Oncology. For more information, please visit http://www.humanlongevity.com or http://www.healthnucleus.com.

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Males with a singular genetic mutation are likely to live about 10 years longer than their peers without the change, shows a new study appearing in the journal Science Advances.

Researchers have linked a mutation in the growth hormone receptor (GHR) gene to longer life in a number of populations, ranging from Ashkenazi Jews to Pennsylvania Amish.

Our study provides the first consistent evidence linking the GHR to human longevity, report the study authors from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City and other institutions.

The authors believe that their findings may support interventions on a genetic level that can impact the human lifespan.

These results may have implications in devising precision medicine strategies, such as GH-related interventional therapies in the elderly, the authors write.

The new findings come as one of the first clear associations between a populations genetic makeup and overall lifespan. Much previous work on population-level DNA has come up empty.

Its been a real disappointment, Nir Barzilai, a geneticist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine who led the current study, told the New York Times.

Yet researchers have begun to take cues from approachable physical evidence, rather than first burrowing deep into the genome to try to find the magical gene thats tied to a longer life.

Related:Running May Increase Life Expectancy

If you look at dogs, flies, mice, whatever it is, smaller lives longer, Gil Atzmon, a geneticist at the University of Haifa in Israel, explained to the New York Times.

That observation has led researchers to investigate growth hormone, a substance created in the brain that is directly tied to human growth and size. At a microscopic level, growth hormone attaches to cell molecules via the growth hormone receptor, and this connection guides the ability of the body to keep or stop growing.

The next step in comparing a persons size to longevity took the researchers on a course through history.

The researchers decided to investigate a specific population Ashkenazi Jews (AJ), whose history gave the researchers something of a clean slate from which to work.

To a large extent, this population exhibits both cultural and genetic homogeneity. For these reasons, the AJ population has been successfully used in the discovery of many disease-associated genes, report the study authors.

Among this population, most of whom were born or migrated to the United States in the years preceding World War II, the link between the GHR gene and longevity held true the genetic mutation was present in about 12 percent of men who were over the age of 100. Among those 70 years old, the rate of the GHR mutation was about three times less.

When observing data from an Amish population in Pennsylvania and a group of notably long-living people in France, the researchers found the same genetic trends the GHR mutation was again linked to longevity.

Although numerous genes have been shown to influence longevity, certain genes appear to affect life span across diverse organisms, conclude the researchers, who believe that plausible therapies are not too far off.

Richard Scott is a health care reporter focusing on health policy and public health. Richard keeps tabs on national health trends from his Philadelphia location and is an active member of the Association of Health Care Journalists.

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Men With This Genetic Mutation May Live 10 Years Longer - - Vital Updates

While Cat Zingano continues down the road to recovery, she cant help but think about whats next.

First, she expressed interest in fighting Cris Cyborg Justino at a later date. But after Holly Holms impressive win over Bethe Correia last Saturday in Singapore, the former UFC womens bantamweight contender said shed be interested in fighting Holm, too.

I'm excited to see Holly do as well as she did against Bethe, Zingano said. I'm always a fan of watching (Bethe) get humbled, in that case it was instant. You have to give it to Holly, she's amazing at implementing a gameplan.

Recently, I was asked about fighting her and for it to be in contention of possibly fighting the winner of Cyborg (Justino) vs. (Megan) Anderson. My answer is hell yes. As soon as my body is ready to safely go back in there, the heads will be rolling once again. The results and trials of the treatments Im focusing on are responding and that makes me happy to hear as an athlete, as well as a normal human. Longevity in health and sport are both my top priorities, as well as in the interest of the UFC, who is providing me huge support at this time.

Zingano declined to disclose whats ailing her right now and said shes unclear when she can return just yet because its dependent on these treatments.

The 34-year-old Zingano (9-2) hasnt fought since UFC 200 last July. She hasnt won since UFC 178 in September 2014 when she defeated Amanda Nunes, who is now the UFC womens bantamweight champion.

Justino vs. Anderson, for the now-vacant UFC womens featherweight title was officially booked earlier this week for UFC 214 on July 29.

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Cat Zingano on fighting Holly Holm next: 'Hell yes' - MMA Fighting

San Diego County is the nations second-leading center for genomics research and products, according to a study released Monday by the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp.

The genomics industry contributes $5.6 billion annually to the countys economy, directly creating more than 10,000 jobs, the report said.

The complete study will be available at sandiegobusiness.org/research-center. Its release coincides with the opening of the 2017 convention by BIO, the nations biotechnology trade association, at the San Diego Convention Center.

Boston narrowly edged out San Diego and third-place San Francisco Bay Area for the top spot, according to EDC research director Kirby Brady. Boston prevailed because of the presence of large pharmaceutical companies and top research organizations such as the Broad Institute, she said.

San Diegos life sciences industry is younger than that of the Bay Area and Boston, she said, so the regions life science infrastructure has had less time to mature. But the countys strengths make up for that relative youth, she said.

To quantify the rankings, the report used objective data as research and venture capital funding, genomics patents and the number of graduates with a genomics education.

San Diego County ranked first in the number of genomics patents, with 371 issued from 2014 to 2016. It also ranked first in the number of genomics-ready graduates, relative to the size of its workforce.

Its educational institutions also grant the most degrees in biochemistry, cognitive science and bioinformatics, the report stated. An average of 1,968 genomics-related degrees are conferred.

Companies located in the county, home to about 1 percent of the American population, received 22 percent of venture capital funding for genomics in 2016, the report found.

San Diegos genomics industry had the advantage of strong local genomics programs in every step of the product chain, Brady said. This begins at basic research at local academic centers to clinical collaborators and ultimately leads to genomics powerhouses such as Illumina in San Diego and Thermo Fisher Scientific in Carlsbad.

What that really means in terms of having all those players in the ecosystem here and the collaboration that we see among these players is that youre able to pioneer these discoveries, license intellectual property, bring these new therapies to market faster in many instances, she said.

The ties work in research as well. Human Longevity, a La Jolla company co-founded by genomics pioneer J. Craig Venter, performs much of its genomic work with Illumina sequencers. And Illumina can discuss how the sequencers perform with Human Longevity.

The difficult task of turning research into commercially friendly products is eased by such groups as the Scripps Translational Science Institute, which span research to commercial partners, she said.

The countys ethnic diversity brings a genetic diversity that also benefits the industry, Brady said. It provides a nearby population that can be included in research and clinical development to ensure that products target the needs of the whole population.

bradley.fikes@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1020

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San Diego 2nd in genomics, study finds - The San Diego Union ... - The San Diego Union-Tribune

In its relatively brief lifetime, the biotechnology industry has swung between exuberance and despondency.

In an uncertain environment, the best path is to stay the course, according to a report released Monday by the professional services firm EY (formerly Ernst & Young).

To stay the course means continuing to invest in new technologies and trusting in the long development cycles of biotech to provide return on investment despite short-term fluctuations, the report said.

Issued on the opening day of the massive Biotechnology Innovation Organization convention in San Diego, the annual study said the biotech industry is in good shape by historical standards.

In 2016, overall financing was down, but the early stage venture ecosystem remained healthy, the report stated. In fact, biotech enjoyed its third-best financing year ever, despite a drop in proceeds from initial public offerings and follow-on rounds.

Revenue for American and European biotech companies reached $139.4 billion in 2016, up 7 percent from a year earlier. However, net income dropped 52 percent to $7.9 billion. And financing dropped 27 percent, to $7.9 billion.

San Diego Countys biotech companies pulled in $3.8 billion last year, an 11 percent increase over 2015. They incurred a net loss of $1.6 billion.

In the San Diego region, biotech venture capital financing leveled off around $1 billion for last year, about the same as 2015 but still up from about $400 million in 2013 and about $700 million in 2014, according to the new report.

Much of San Diegos financing went to genomics companies.

For example: San Diego-based Human Longevity raised $220 million in April 2016. That was the second-largest U.S. venture financing for that year, exceeded only by the $474 million raised by Moderna Therapeutics of Cambridge, Mass.

While the new administration of President Donald J. Trump has introduced uncertainties for the life-sciences sector, the report said some of the presidents appointees will help the biotech industry grow.

Biotech organizations and executives agree the recent appointment of FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb will help to maintain the industrys regulatory momentum, the EY report said. Gottlieb may also be in a position to curb some of biopharmas worst excesses: He has signaled a desire to speed generics to market as a way to counter high drug prices in niche markets where one company enjoys a monopoly.

Some of that competition is already coming.

On Thursday, San Diegos Adamis announced it had received FDA marketing approval for an epinephrine injector that will compete against the EpiPen thats currently sold by Mylan for more than $600.

Mylan has received extensive negative publicity for jacking up the price of its injector, which uses a generic drug to counter allergic reactions.

According to a recent New York Times article, when asked about the EpiPens high price, Mylans chairman, Robert Coury, raised both his middle fingers and explained, using colorful language, that anyone criticizing Mylan, including its employees, ought to go copulate with themselves.

Biotech companies are more comfortable charging high prices for new drugs that address unmet needs, because these drugs improve on the standard of care. The report said investments appear to be increasingly concentrated in two such areas: rare diseases and cancer.

In particular, both venture investment and the public market bets appear to be focused on immuno-oncology companies, the EY authors wrote.

bradley.fikes@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1020

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Biotech companies riding out latest period of turbulence, new report ... - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Biomedical gerontologist Aubrey de Grey has said that the first person likely to live to 1,000 years-old has probably been born already. de Grey's nonprofit lab, and others, some of which are funded by Silicon Valley billionaires, are boldly focused on how science may find a cure for aging. In the new issue of Smithsonian, Elmo Keep writes about these efforts to "hack" mortality and quotes my Institute for the Future colleagues Rachel Maguire and Jake Dunagan, both of whom cast a concerned eye on the obsession with longevity. From Smithsonian:

One thing we do know is that there are more elderly people alive now than there have ever been in the history of the planet. Even if todays life-extension researchers made meaningful breakthroughs, the therapies wouldnt be available for many years to come. That means were about to face a lot of death, says Rachel Maguire, a research director focusing on health care at the Institute for the Future, in Palo Alto. By 2025 or 2030, there will be more of a culture of dying and lots of different ways of experiencing it. There are early signs of new types of funerals and spiritual formations around this. Maguire foresees new end-of-life plans, including assisted dying. When it comes to aging, she points out that biological research is only one piece of a puzzle that must also include economics, politics and cultural change. I dont think we have answers yet for how wed do the other pieces. And the financial piece alone is huge.

Theres already a huge disparity between the life spans of rich and poor Americans, and critics of the new longevity research worry the gap may only grow wider. A 2016 report from the Brookings Institution found that, for men born in 1920, there was a six-year difference in life expectancy between men at the top 10 percent and bottom 10 percent of the earnings ladder. For men born in 1950, the difference was 14 years. For women, the gap grew from 4.7 to 13 years. In other words, advances in medicine havent helped low-income Americans nearly as much as their wealthier counterparts....

Dunagan has little patience for Silicon Valleys longevity research; he says proponents are not sufficiently interested in the details. The rich people are defining the terms of the longevity conversation and have enhanced access to these technologies, he says. Everyone wants to live longer, to some degree, but its also the sense of privilege, of selfishness to it thats I want mine. I always want mine. Well, what if everyone had this? What would be the long-term implications of that?

Derek Muller of the YouTube channel Veritasium uses a nifty trick to make visible the invisible air currents, temperature gradients, and differences in air pressure around us. The process is called Schlieren photography and with the right equipment and some precision alignment, you can try it at home. As Muller explains: I first saw a []

On June 16, 1963, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. She orbited the Earth 48 times over a period of three days. Inspired by Yuri Gagarin who in 1961 became the first person in space, Tereshkova applied to the Russian space program and was accepted based on her extensive background as []

In this nifty YouTube video, Dave Hax talks through the properties of gallium, the metal that liquefies at just 86F and is safe to play with. (Just dont eat it!) Hax has a whole collection of videos about gallium on his YouTube channel. If you want to give it a try yourself, you buy 20 []

COGZ is a game where up to six players compete to see who can fix a mad scientists color-coded machine, and its currently available in the Boing Boing Store.In this Mensa-endorsed tabletop game, players take turns laying gear tiles to connect like-colored segments. Points are scored when complex paths are finished, but your unfinished arrangements []

Whether you desperately need to locate your wedding ring in the sink drain or accurately determine how much hair is clogging your shower, this Waterproof Endoscopic Camera will give you a clear window into your homes tightest crevices.This rugged camera comes with an adjustable LED lamp to illuminate the situation. Its 720p HD resolution provides []

While the portability of smartphones and tablets is undeniably convenient, the occasional need to support your device while typing or video chatting can get exhausting after awhile. To give you an extra hand with your mobile devices, this trio of foldable stands is availablein the Boing Boing Store.These device props have an adjustable metal back, []

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Hacking the human lifespan / Boing Boing - Boing Boing

Biomedical gerontologist Aubrey de Grey has said that the first person likely to live to 1,000 years-old has probably been born already. de Grey's nonprofit lab, and others, some of which are funded by Silicon Valley billionaires, are boldly focused on how science may find a cure for aging. In the new issue of Smithsonian, Elmo Keep writes about these efforts to "hack" mortality and quotes my Institute for the Future colleagues Rachel Maguire and Jake Dunagan, both of whom cast a concerned eye on the obsession with longevity. From Smithsonian:

One thing we do know is that there are more elderly people alive now than there have ever been in the history of the planet. Even if todays life-extension researchers made meaningful breakthroughs, the therapies wouldnt be available for many years to come. That means were about to face a lot of death, says Rachel Maguire, a research director focusing on health care at the Institute for the Future, in Palo Alto. By 2025 or 2030, there will be more of a culture of dying and lots of different ways of experiencing it. There are early signs of new types of funerals and spiritual formations around this. Maguire foresees new end-of-life plans, including assisted dying. When it comes to aging, she points out that biological research is only one piece of a puzzle that must also include economics, politics and cultural change. I dont think we have answers yet for how wed do the other pieces. And the financial piece alone is huge.

Theres already a huge disparity between the life spans of rich and poor Americans, and critics of the new longevity research worry the gap may only grow wider. A 2016 report from the Brookings Institution found that, for men born in 1920, there was a six-year difference in life expectancy between men at the top 10 percent and bottom 10 percent of the earnings ladder. For men born in 1950, the difference was 14 years. For women, the gap grew from 4.7 to 13 years. In other words, advances in medicine havent helped low-income Americans nearly as much as their wealthier counterparts....

Dunagan has little patience for Silicon Valleys longevity research; he says proponents are not sufficiently interested in the details. The rich people are defining the terms of the longevity conversation and have enhanced access to these technologies, he says. Everyone wants to live longer, to some degree, but its also the sense of privilege, of selfishness to it thats I want mine. I always want mine. Well, what if everyone had this? What would be the long-term implications of that?

Derek Muller of the YouTube channel Veritasium uses a nifty trick to make visible the invisible air currents, temperature gradients, and differences in air pressure around us. The process is called Schlieren photography and with the right equipment and some precision alignment, you can try it at home. As Muller explains: I first saw a []

On June 16, 1963, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. She orbited the Earth 48 times over a period of three days. Inspired by Yuri Gagarin who in 1961 became the first person in space, Tereshkova applied to the Russian space program and was accepted based on her extensive background as []

In this nifty YouTube video, Dave Hax talks through the properties of gallium, the metal that liquefies at just 86F and is safe to play with. (Just dont eat it!) Hax has a whole collection of videos about gallium on his YouTube channel. If you want to give it a try yourself, you buy 20 []

While the portability of smartphones and tablets is undeniably convenient, the occasional need to support your device while typing or video chatting can get exhausting after awhile. To give you an extra hand with your mobile devices, this trio of foldable stands is availablein the Boing Boing Store.These device props have an adjustable metal back, []

With over 80% of the global smartphone market, Android is by far the most widely-used operating system. Thanks to its open-source underpinnings, adoption of Googles mobile OS has skyrocketed. It can be found everywhere from laptops to car navigation systems. As such, enterprising mobile developers would be remiss to not consider targeting the platform. And []

Having grown out of its awkward adolescence, JavaScript is no longer a novelty language for animating elements on webpages. It has become the lingua franca of the web, imbued with a variety of other libraries and tools to form complex, interactive sites. To make a real career as a programmer its not enough to just []

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Hacking the human lifespan - Boing Boing

My Uncle Phil, who drank himself into his mid-60s before his liver gave out, always claimed that he wasnt much interested in longevity. Whoever said, hed ask rhetorically as he sipped his eighth or ninth lunchtime Scotch and water, that the point of life was to make it last as long as possible?

This brings to mind the old joke about the man whose doctor tells him that he has to stop smoking, drinking, eating rich foods, and having sex. If I give up all that, the man asks, will I live a lot longer? Probably not, the doctor replies, but it will seem a lot longer.

In an article this spring in The New Yorker called Silicon Valleys Quest to Live Forever which was basically about how all those billionaire titans of the digital universe dont see why they should have to actually, you know, die, considering their dazzling disruptive genius the writer Tad Friend divided longevity scientists into two groups:

healthspanners, whose ideal (I paraphrase) is a healthy life snuffed out quickly and painlessly after a good long run, and immortalists, who think we (or at least they) ought to be able to pretty much live forever. (Friend further separated the latter category into two factions, the Meat Puppets, who believe that we can retool our biology and remain in our bodies, and the RoboCops, who believe that well eventually merge with mechanical bodies and/or with the cloud the latter only slightly sillier, I'd venture, than the former.)

Immortal is a funny word when you stop to think about it, deriving from the joining of the Latin prefix im ("un-") with the Latin noun mortalis ("mortal," in the sense of a mortal being) which of course is in turn derived from mortem, death.. It's more or less a synonym for not human, in other words. If you're immortal, then, you're not really one of us.

Ever since it first dawned on the human mind that human bodies apparently didnt last forever, though, people have been desperately looking for the loophole. Well, yeah, the lights might go out and the body turn to compost, but surely our spirits would survive, finding new homes in a cat, a tree, an Egyptian princess maybe even in Shirley MacLaine. Or else wed ascend to the heavenly realm where we would indeed live forever, even though we were, paradoxically, dead. Or on a more interventionist level, maybe if we drank enough of that mercury-and-honey cocktail the mixologist down at the alchemists shop was brewing up we could actually stay around in more or less the same form. Or maybe if we sold our soul to the.

Of the possibility of reincarnation or heavenly repose, both of them widely held as religious tenets around the world, the best that can be said is that, well, maybe I guess well find out if and when we get there. On the subject of alchemical elixirs, theres no need to equivocate: They didn't work, and were quite possibly poisonous to boot (see heavenly realm). And that selling-the-soul stuff never seems to work out too well in the end.

Ultimately, I think we just have to face it: Death and taxes. And I just got a letter from the IRS.

If death is inevitable, then, as the smart money certainly says it is, what about keeping it at bay for a while longer? That we can talk about. Average life expectancy worldwide increased about seven years for men and 10 years for women between 1990 and 2013. If it were to keep going at that rate indefinitely.

But it won't. Methuselah lived 900 years, according to Ira Gershwin (and 969 according to Genesis 5:27), but the oldest documented human being in modern times was Jeanne Calment, a Frenchwoman who died at the age of 122in 1997 and researchers believe that the absolute limit for human life is probably 125. Different researchers believe that it might be possible for a human being to run as fast as 40 miles an hour (Usain Bolt manages about 28). Needless to say, the chances of you or me achieving either milestone are mighty slim.

Does that mean we shouldn't try at least for the 125 years thing? Well, no, I guess not. Eating right, exercising, avoiding tobacco and non-prescription opioids and too much alcohol all those things you've been being told to do since you were old enough to care are probably well worth trying. At least in moderation. At least as long as they don't turn our lives into existential scut work, an anhedonic slog.

It would be nice to think that we can just keep going, but of course we can't. We know what's coming. We can rage or pray or turn to crackpot remedies or feed ourselves reassuring fantasies about post-cryogenic resurrection or downloading our spirits into cyberspace, but it isn't going to do any good.

Through his haze of Cutty Sark, Uncle Phil had a point. Maybe we should consider the possibility that longevity isn't everything. Maybe we should consider the possibility that as they used to say in those old commercials for Winston cigarettes (speaking of things we're supposed to avoid) it's not how long you make it, it's how you make it long.

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Healthspanners and Immortalists: A Philosophy of Longevity - The Daily Meal

Kitsap 1:59 p.m. PT June 15, 2017

Ginny Sugimoto, MD(Photo: Kitsap Sun)

This Fathers Day, you could give your dad a tie or a watch, but I have another suggestion: How about giving him the gift of a long, healthy life?

Over the years, researchers, mysticsand even science fiction writers have sought the key to longevity, but no one has found one perfect answer. One challenge is that many factors that affect human longevity are mostly beyond an individuals control, such as a persons genetic makeup, or their exposure to environmental pollution. On the other hand, research indicates that our actions have more influence over our life expectancy than we may think. Results of a study of Danish twins, for instance, suggested that 25 percent of our aging is determined by our genetics, while 75 percent is determined by lifestyle and medical conditions.

This is good news because it means we can have a big effect on healthy aging by changing how we live. Scientists in a range of fields are finding that we can live longer, healthier lives through basic daily attention to such things as avoiding smoking, eating well, exercising, and getting regular checkups and enough sleep. While these lifestyle choices apply to both females and males, women worldwide already live longer than men do on average about three to seven years longer, depending on location. There are several reasons for this, including the extra risks men are more likely to take when young due in part frontal lobes in the male brain that develop later than in females and the fact that men are much more likely to skip doctors visits and health screens than women are.

With that in mind, here are five science-backed ways to increase the odds of a long, healthy life, for your father, or anyone you care about:

1.Get treated. Everyone should start with making sure they are getting and following effective treatments for any chronic conditions, especially individuals with diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea and/or obesity. If undiagnosed and untreated, these conditions are sure ways to shorten a life and to deteriorate health in older age. See the doctor for regular screenings to diagnose and treat medical problems before they further affect your quality of life. Those screenings include not just blood pressure checks and cancer screenings, such as colonoscopies, but also screenings for depression and other mental health concerns. Men are more likely to commit suicide than women, even though women seem to be more likely to have depression and to make suicide attempts.

2. Focus on diet. Diet and longevity have been linked in numerous studies. A Mediterranean-style diet, for instance, is associated with heart health, brain health and longer life. That diet is high in olive oil and fresh vegetables, particularly leafy greens, fruits, whole grains, nuts, and legumes such as chickpeas and lentils; moderate in fish, dairy, and wine, and low in red meat, eggs and sugar. Another possible longevity diet is that of people who live in the Okinawan Islands of Japan, which boasts a large number of centenarians. The Okinawans eat several servings of fish a week, and also consume copious whole grains, vegetables, soy products, and seaweed, as well as a kind of native sweet potato that is rich in beneficial nutrients. Another community known for longevity, the Seventh Day Adventist Community in Southern California, also has a high intake of fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, as well as nuts which have been shown to benefit heart health. They eat little or no meat or fish. These individuals also eschew smoking and drinking. If you smoke, quit. If you drink, follow guidelines for moderation.

Other dietary research is focused on specific vitamins for instance, some research suggests that Vitamins C and E may provide health benefits as we age, functioning primarily as antioxidants to protect against damage to cells. But research suggests the best way to get these vitamins is in a plant-based diet. Sources high in Vitamin C include red peppers, kale, broccoli, spinach, strawberries, cabbage, and oranges. Foods high in Vitamin E include wheat germ, sunflower seeds, almonds, whole wheat, spinach, and cabbage. Eating fish twice a week protects against inflammation and atherosclerosis hardening and narrowing of arteries. There is increasing evidence that foods which contain live, beneficial bacteria, called probiotics, may also have an anti-aging effect. Good sources of probiotics include certain yogurts (make sure the label says they contain live bacteria), kefir, aged cheeses, and sauerkraut, kimchi and pickles all of which will only contain probiotics if they are sold in the refrigerated section those sold on store shelves at room temperature have been pasteurized, removing the bacteria.

3. Stick to a sleep schedule. We often have disrupted sleep as we age, and if it disrupts our internal circadian rhythm that manages our hormones, body temperature, and other functions it can be damaging to our health. Older adults still need seven to nine hours of sleep a night. Try to go to sleep and get up at the same time, and avoid napping if it affects sleep. Avoid screen time in bed, as it can also disrupt sleep. Some people believe alcohol helps them fall asleep, however, alcohol makes it harder to stay asleep once you do nod off. Talk to your doctor if you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.

4. Keep your body active. Physical activity is associated with a higher quality of life and a longer life, with benefits such as reducing insulin resistance, reducing inflammation and promoting brain health, particularly in areas associated with memory and learning. Daily activity also improves sleep and mood. All adults should aim for at least 150 minutes a week of at least moderate physical activity that gets your heart pumping thats about 30 minutes most days of the week. Walking is an excellent activity for overall health. Participants in a study that improved memory walked briskly for one hour, twice a week.

5. Engage your mind and be social. Learning new skills, doing the crosswords, reading, working and volunteering can all help to stimulate the brain in ways that may help to protect it from age-related changes. Connecting with others socially also activates your brain, and improves emotional health. Staying connected with friends and family keeps life stimulating and fun. it also helps you maintain a network of caring and support when you need it. Try a new hobby, find a new walking buddy, and try to hold an attitude of openness to new thoughts and adventures.

Its a great day to start on these steps to a healthier, longer life or to help your father do so.

Resources: The website of the National Institute on Aging offers many health and aging resources: http://www.nia.nih.gov

Ginny Sugimoto, MD, is a board-certified family practice doctor at Kaiser Permanente Port Orchard Medical Center. Her philosophy of care includes a emphasizing a preventive lifestyle and shared decision-making in partnership with her patients.

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The ultimate Father's Day gift: a longer, healthier life - Kitsap Sun

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The elusive 'elixir of youth' pill is a major step nearer after the discovery of bacterial genes and compounds that not only extended life, but slowed down tumour growth and the build up of amyloid-beta, a compound associated with Alzheimer's disease.

Scientists at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas Health Science Centre in the US hope one day a simple pill could play a vital role in slowing down ageing.

Dr Meng Wang, an Associate Professor of molecular and human genetics at Baylor, said: "The scientific community is increasingly aware that our body's interactions with the millions of microbes in our bodies, the microbiome, can influence many of our functions, such as cognitive and metabolic activities and ageing.

"In this work we investigated whether the genetic composition of the microbiome might also be important for longevity."

The study used the laboratory worm C. elegans, a transparent, simple organism that is as long as a pinhead and shares essential characteristics with human biology.

We think that C. elegans is a wonderful system in which to study the connection between bacterial genes and aging

Dr Meng Wang

During its two to three week long lifespan, the worm feeds on bacteria, develops into an adult, reproduces, and progressively ages, loses strength and health and dies.

Prof Wang explained: "We think that C. elegans is a wonderful system in which to study the connection between bacterial genes and aging because we can very fine tune the genetics of microbes and test many genes in the worm in a relatively short time."

To test the effect of individual bacterial genes on the lifespan of the worms they employed a complete gene-deletion library of bacterium E. coli. These each lacked one of close to 4,000 genes.

Prof Wang said: "We fed C. elegans each individual mutant bacteria and then looked at the worms' life span.

"Of the nearly 4,000 bacterial genes we tested, 29, when deleted, increased the worms' lifespan.

"Twelve of these bacterial mutants also protected the worms from tumour growth and accumulation of amyloid-beta, a characteristic of Alzheimer's disease in humans."

Further experiments found some of the bacterial mutants increased longevity by acting on some of the worm's known processes linked to ageing.

Other mutants encouraged longevity by over-producing the polysaccharide colanic acid.

When the purified colanic acid was given to C. elegans, the worms also lived longer.

Colanic acid also showed similar effects in the laboratory fruit fly and in mammalian cells cultured in the lab.

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She suggested it might be possible in the future to design preparations of bacteria or their compounds that could help slow down the ageing process.

Colanic acid mediates crosstalk between bacteria and mitochondria.

In particular colanic acid regulated the fusion-fission dynamics of mitochondria, the structures that provide the energy for the cell's functions.

Prof Wang added: "These findings are also interesting and have implications from the biological point of view in the way we understand host-microbe communication

"Mitochondria seem to have evolved from bacteria that millions of years ago entered primitive cells.

"Our finding suggests that products from bacteria today can still chime in the communication between mitochondria in our cells.

"We think that this type of communication is very important and here we have provided the first evidence of this.

"Fully understanding microbe-mitochondria communication can help us understand at a deeper level the interactions between microbes and their hosts."

The study was published in the journal Cell.

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