Category Archives: Human Longevity

Contact Information

Available for logged-in reporters only

Newswise SAN DIEGO (April 28, 2014) Zoo-goers may marvel at their bare skin and wrinkles, but scientists are more interested in the long lives of the pale, toothy and nearly hairless rodents known as naked mole rats. With lifespans of up to 31 years, naked mole rats live decades longer than would be expected based on their size. By comparison, mice live at most four years.

A new study links the naked mole rats remarkable lifespan to a molecular chaperone protein known as HSP25. HSP25 and other chaperone proteins act like a tiny quality-control team within an animals cells, quickly eliminating incorrectly manufactured or damaged proteins before they can cause a problem. Researchers say understanding changes in the actions of HSP25 during aging could shed light on age-related diseases like Alzheimers and Parkinsons.

Using a variety of rodents, we found that the amount of HSP25 present in their tissues positively correlated with the animals maximum lifespan, said Karl Rodriguez, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio who conducted the experiments. If we can understand how HSP25 levels are regulated, what its function is and how it contributes to cell health, we might find ways to use this protein to combat devastating age-related diseases.

The researchers compared HSP25 levels in naked mole rats to levels of the protein found in rodents with different maximum lifespans, from mice (four years) to guinea pigs (12 years) to Damaraland mole rats (20 years) and others in between.

In animals with higher levels of HSP25, having more of these quality-control proteins means they are primed to react when there is a problem, so they can quickly transport the faulty protein to cellular garbage dumps and maintain the health of the cell, said Rodriguez.

Many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimers, Parkinsons and prion diseases, are caused by defective proteins that are allowed to proliferate and accumulate into dangerous structures called aggregates. Finding ways to safely increase a persons level of HSP27 (the human corollary to HSP25) could potentially help to prevent or treat such diseases, said Rodriguez.

Native to the horn of Africa, naked mole rats live underground in colonies with complex social structures akin to those of ants or bees. In addition to their noted longevity, they are remarkably resistant to cancer.

Naked mole rats also appear to remain spry and healthy even in the final years of their long lives, so they can potentially offer clues not only about longevity but also the overall maintenance of health.

Read more:
Naked Mole Rats and the Secret to Longevity

More than 400 mutations were found in the healthy white blood cells of a 115-year-old woman, according to a new study that may advance what is known about limits of the human life span.

Genetic mutations have been linked to diseases such as cancer, but these findings suggest that mutations in white blood cells are largely harmless over a lifetime, the researchers said.

Blood is continually replenished by hematopoietic (meaning "to make blood") stem cells that are inside the bone marrow and divide to produce different types of blood cells.

Cell division can lead to genetic mutations and hundreds of mutations have been found in patients with blood cancers. However, little was known about white blood cells and mutations.

The woman in the study - whose name was not revealed - was the oldest person in the world when she died in 2005. She is thought to be the oldest person ever to donate her body to science. The hundreds of mutations identified in her white blood cells appeared to be tolerated by the body and did not cause disease.

The researchers also found possible new insight into the limits of human longevity, according to the authors of the study published online April 23 in the journal Genome Research.

"To our great surprise we found that, at the time of her death, the peripheral blood was derived from only two active hematopoietic stem cells (in contrast to an estimated 1,300 simultaneously active stem cells), which were related to each other," lead author Dr. Henne Holstege said in a journal news release.

The researchers also found that the woman's white blood cells' telomeres were extremely short. Telomeres, which are at the ends of chromosomes and protect them from damage, get a bit shorter each time a cell divides.

"Because these blood cells had extremely short telomeres, we speculate that most hematopoietic stem cells may have died from 'stem cell exhaustion,' reaching the upper limit of stem cell divisions," Holstege said.

Further research is needed to learn whether such stem cell exhaustion is a cause of death in extremely old people.

Follow this link:
Scientists seek genetic clues to longevity from 115-year-old woman

Contact Information

Available for logged-in reporters only

Newswise University of Rochester Professor of Biology Vera Gorbunova, whose innovative research on DNA repair and the aging process has been internationally recognized, has been awarded a $9.5 million grant from the National Institute on Aging to study longevity.

Vera Gorbunova will lead a five-year project, which includes colleagues at the University of Rochester, Harvard University and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, to explore the factors responsible for longevity in various rodent species, with the goal of developing treatments to improve the aging process in people.

Professor Gorbunova has made tremendous strides with her research on the anti-cancer mechanisms of naked mole rats, said University President Joel Seligman. We are extremely proud that she will now build on this groundbreaking work by leading colleagues at Harvard University and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine to advance our understanding of problems associated with aging.

Researchers at the three locations will focus on rodents because they are genetically similar to humans and have a diverse range of lifespans. Mice and rats, for example, typically live two to four years, while naked mole rats, beavers, porcupines, and squirrels have lifespans in excess of 20 years. Naked mole rats, which have been known to live more than 30 years, are of special interest since they remain free of age-related problems and diseaseincluding canceruntil the very end of their lives.

As people age, they are more likely to come down with a variety of diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis, said Gorbunova. By working together, researchers at the three institutions will be better equipped to make progress in countering age-related health problems in people.

The work done by Gorbunova and her research partner, biologist Andrei Seluanov, has largely focused on DNA repair and cancer-resistance in naked mole rats in order to better understand the mechanisms responsible for longevity. In papers published last year, they identified HMW-HA (high molecular weight hyaluronan) as the chemical that triggers the anti-cancer response in the naked mole rat and attributed the rodents longevity to a process that results in nearly-perfect protein synthesis.

As Gorbunova points out, the University will serve as an ideal center for the research project, given the advances already made by her lab and its catalog of tissue and cell samples from 18 rodent species.

In addition to her leadership role, Gorbunova will conduct research to identify the factors responsible for more efficient DNA repair in long-lived species. With a better understanding of DNA repair, it may be possible to modulate those factors to delay human aging. Also at the University of Rochester, Andrei Seluanov, an assistant professor of biology, will study the mechanisms of longevity and cancer resistance in naked mole rats.

See more here:
Biologist Vera Gorbunova to Lead $9.5 Million Multi-Institution Longevity Research Project

WEDNESDAY, April 23, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- More than 400 mutations were found in the healthy white blood cells of a 115-year-old woman, according to a new study that may advance what is known about limits of the human life span.

Genetic mutations have been linked to diseases such as cancer, but these findings suggest that mutations in white blood cells are largely harmless over a lifetime, the researchers said.

Blood is continually replenished by hematopoietic (meaning "to make blood") stem cells that are inside the bone marrow and divide to produce different types of blood cells.

Cell division can lead to genetic mutations and hundreds of mutations have been found in patients with blood cancers. However, little was known about white blood cells and mutations.

The woman in the study was the oldest person in the world when she died in 2005. She is thought to be the oldest person ever to donate her body to science. The hundreds of mutations identified in her white blood cells appeared to be tolerated by the body and did not cause disease.

The researchers also found possible new insight into the limits of human longevity, according to the authors of the study published online April 23 in the journal Genome Research.

"To our great surprise we found that, at the time of her death, the peripheral blood was derived from only two active hematopoietic stem cells (in contrast to an estimated 1,300 simultaneously active stem cells), which were related to each other," lead author Dr. Henne Holstege said in a journal news release.

The researchers also found that the woman's white blood cells' telomeres were extremely short. Telomeres, which are at the ends of chromosomes and protect them from damage, get a bit shorter each time a cell divides.

"Because these blood cells had extremely short telomeres, we speculate that most hematopoietic stem cells may have died from 'stem cell exhaustion,' reaching the upper limit of stem cell divisions," Holstege said.

Further research is needed to learn whether such stem cell exhaustion is a cause of death in extremely old people.

Read more from the original source:
Scientists study gene clues from 115-year-old woman

The devil is in the detail is a clich that happens to be true, but lets turn it around: The magic is in the detail. What constitutes quality in a product, besides the raw materials you choose? The attention paid to detail.

Look at a knock-off Gucci handbag and consider its original counterpart: The difference, besides the leather chosen, is in the stitching, the inside lining, the zippers, and so on. In short, quality resides in the hidden details that aren't obvious to most--until you touch the product and look at it up close. It's craftsmanship that gives luxury fashion brands longevity and which lets them weather trends.

Brands are no different from the products and services that they represent. Frantically searching for the one Unique Positioning Statement (UPS) or logo design that is going to simultaneously sum up precisely what your company stands for and differentiate it from the rest of the pack is in some ways a meaningless battle. Taglines may be catchy, but they don't, in the end, make people buy products. What determines whether a woman buys Chanel No. 5 or Issey Miyake's L'Eau d'Issey Florale? Not taglines but how either smells on her skin.

What makes you so special?

What makes your brand unique and better than the competition is the compounded totality of many little things. That means you cant just consider the attention given to producing an outstanding service or product--you also have to think about how the sales force and support team treats its customers and how the receptionist answers the phone.

The Jawbone UP24 fitness tracking device is a good example. After diligently tracking my sleep, workout regime, and diet, I became properly addicted to the wristband and to its accompanying iOS app. When the band suddenly stopped working, after three months, I flew into a minor panic. All my data (and exercise momentum) would be lost, I worried. But Jawbone turned out to have an excellent support system. They troubleshot the problem with me seamlessly, on email and over the phone. They used human beings, not robots. I followed the progress of my issue via a concise thread on their support ticketing system. After they quickly exhausted all possible solutions and saw that the device was still malfunctioning, they shipped me a replacement band immediately. I became loyal to the brand thanks to the humane and efficient treatment I received. The extra attention taken by Jawbone to make sure that their staff was professional and courteous--while making sure that I never got lost in a maze of telephone drones or automated emails--made a huge difference.

Keep the details invisible.

Its the combination of myriad details that shapes brand image in the minds of customers. These details may be transmitted subconsciously. Not everyone recognizes that hand stitching makes a serious difference. Expertly executed details, imperceptible to most, should create a sense of magic and wonder. Think of an upmarket German car, such as an Audi, BMW or Mercedes. When you are at the BMW showroom and you step into, say, a 5 Series model, the satisfyingly clean thumpf sound that the door makes as you shut it signifies quality. Theres no rattling, no sound of sheet metal being slammed, just that confidence-inspiring, compact sound. Its the sound of outside noise and discomfort being sealed off while you enter a safe, comfortable place. Behind the steering wheel are carefully wrought details, too: the smell, the way the seat feels, the feel of your hands on the steering wheel, the way the dashboard buttons have a certain resistance, and so on.

For those who remember, think about the perfect resistance and muted click of the Hewlett-Packard scientific calculator buttons, compared to their competitors Casio and Texas Instruments. The latter two companies clearly hadnt spent a lot of energy thinking about what it would feel like to press down the keys. And it made a difference.

Advertising and branding should be thought of in the same way. Yes, the big idea is important, but success hinges on its execution, consistency, and attention to each and every word. Do define the brand with succinct messaging, but also trust that consumers will recognize the collective positive attributes of the brand rather than just its tagline. Make sure your communications are well crafted and recognizable. All touch points need to be carefully considered, down to every HTML email campaign.

More here:
Great Branding Is Invisible

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that older women, plucky individuals and those who have suffered a recent major loss are more likely to be compassionate toward strangers than other older adults.

The study is published in this months issue of the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Because compassionate behaviors are associated with better health and well-being as we age, the research findings offer insights into ways to improve the outcomes of individuals whose deficits in compassion put them at risk for becoming lonely and isolated later in life.

We are interested in anything that can help older people age more successfully, said Lisa Eyler, PhD, a professor of psychiatry and co-author. We know that social connections are important to health and well-being, and we know that people who want to be kind to others garner greater social support. If we can foster compassion in people, we can improve their health and well-being, and maybe even longevity.

The study, based on a survey of 1,006 randomly selected adults in San Diego County, aged 50 and over, with a mean age of 77, identified three factors that were predictive of a persons self-reported compassion: gender, recent suffering and high mental resiliency.

Women, independent of their age, income, education, race, marital status or mental health status, scored higher on the compassion test, on average, than men. Higher levels of compassion were also observed among both men and women who had walked a mile in another persons shoes and experienced a personal loss, such as a death in the family or illness, in the last year.

Those who reported higher confidence in their ability to bounce back from hard times also reported more empathy toward strangers and joy from helping those in need.

What is exciting is that we are identifying aspects of successful aging that we can foster in both men and women, said co-author Dilip Jeste, MD, Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, and director of the Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging. Mental resiliency can be developed through meditation, mindfulness and stress reduction practices. We can also teach people that the silver lining to adversity is an opportunity for personal growth.

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by University of California, San Diego Health Sciences. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

See original here:
The ilk of human kindness: Older women with gumption score high on compassion

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

17-Apr-2014

Contact: Scott Lafee slafee@ucsd.edu 619-543-6163 University of California - San Diego

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that older women, plucky individuals and those who have suffered a recent major loss are more likely to be compassionate toward strangers than other older adults.

The study is published in this month's issue of the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Because compassionate behaviors are associated with better health and well-being as we age, the research findings offer insights into ways to improve the outcomes of individuals whose deficits in compassion put them at risk for becoming lonely and isolated later in life.

"We are interested in anything that can help older people age more successfully," said Lisa Eyler, PhD, a professor of psychiatry and co-author. "We know that social connections are important to health and well-being, and we know that people who want to be kind to others garner greater social support. If we can foster compassion in people, we can improve their health and well-being, and maybe even longevity."

The study, based on a survey of 1,006 randomly selected adults in San Diego County, aged 50 and over, with a mean age of 77, identified three factors that were predictive of a person's self-reported compassion: gender, recent suffering and high mental resiliency.

Women, independent of their age, income, education, race, marital status or mental health status, scored higher on the compassion test, on average, than men. Higher levels of compassion were also observed among both men and women who had "walked a mile in another person's shoes" and experienced a personal loss, such as a death in the family or illness, in the last year.

Those who reported higher confidence in their ability to bounce back from hard times also reported more empathy toward strangers and joy from helping those in need.

Read the original post:
The ilk of human kindness

Human Achievement
Matt Ridley, author of The Rational Optimist, recounts the long, flawed history of pessimistic predictions and invites us to examine the facts behind our ine...

By: Dana Whitesides

Read the original here:
Human Achievement - Video

Dr. Gagan Wig, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Dallas Center for Vital Longevity, recently explained to members of its Directors Research Circle how the human brain networks. He talked about how it changes as people age and compared the human brain to social and tech networks and other systems with interacting parts.

Certain parts of the brain can also communicate like the way people in a neighborhood might interact with each other: Theyre friendly and talkative to some, while less social with others, he said.

Wigs lecture was part of the centers Directors Research Circle speaker series, which was founded by Dallas architect Bill Booziotis and the centers advisory council. The Directors Research Circle is made up of donors who commit to an annual gift of $2,500 or a minimum donation of $12,500 over five years.

Before joining the center, Wig earned a Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience from Dartmouth College, completed a fellowship at Harvard University and joined the Human Connectome Project at Washington University School of Medicine, where he focused on understanding brain networks using neuroimaging.

His talk during an evening reception at Arlington Hall in Dallas Lee Park was attended by Ocie Kazee-McAllister, Rita Hortenstine, Katherine Frieberger, Don Daseke and Larry Warder, retired CFO at the U.S. Department of Education and current chair of the centers advisory council.

We are delighted to have Dr. Wig offer insight into new methods of understanding the brain that are having a huge impact in our field, said Dr. Michael Rugg, co-director of the center. Thanks to Dr. Wig and his colleagues at the center, were achieving new insights into the aging mind.

The next center event is a free public lecture next Wednesday at the Communities Foundation of Texas. Memory expert Dr. John Jonides of the University of Michigan will speak as the the first guest in the Jean and Bill Booziotis Distinguished Lecture Series, which was established in Jean and Bill Booziotis name. Reservations are required because seating is limited. Call Holly Hull Miori at 972-883-3728.

The Center for Vital Longevity was founded in 2010 by co-director Dr. Denise Park and has grown in the last four years to become one of the worlds leading centers on studying the aging mind. It is home to six research laboratories and a staff of more than 50.

For more information, contact Miori at 972-883-3728 or iori@utdallas.edu or visit cvlinfo.org.

See more here:
UTD professor explains how the human brain changes with age

A pair of prairie dogs are pictured on display at the Washington National Zoo.Reuters

Bigger is better

"Large animals live longer for two main reasons," zoologist Kevin Healy of Trinity College Dublin told Discovery News. "The first one is that to be large you need more time and resources for growth so it follows you must live longer just to achieve getting large. The second reason is that, once large, an animal is often shielded from many external causes of death such as predators (too big to tackle) or food shortages (as large animals can store large fat reserves)." Healy led the latest research concerning longevity in birds and mammals. The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Mature slowly

Animals that take a while to reach sexual maturity tend to have longer overall lives. Bowhead whales mature slowly and can live 221 years. Smaller and faster maturing pygmy whales bite the dust much earlier. Humans mature relatively slowly, reaching sexual maturity at about age 12 or 13.

Go underground to avoid problems

Burrowing animals tend to live longer than non-burrowing ones, the study found. Healy explained, "burrowing is an extremely effective means to escape predators both as it is hard to detect burrowing animals and also to have access to them. Burrowing might also help animals in bad weather, such as in cold temperatures, or (serve) as safe storage areas when food is running short."

Forage in the trees

When looking for dinner, foraging in trees helps to ward off threats. Food such as fruit is also relatively easy to obtain. An individual just needs to find it and eat it. Edible tubers, on the other hand, require more of energy investment to locate them and to dig them out.

Specialize in day living

See the rest here:
10 ways animals live longer