Category Archives: Human Longevity

SIOUX CITY | Dr. Bill Andrews, a leading biotech industry expert whose research has focused on extending the human lifespan, will speak in two Siouxland cities this week.

Andrews will speak at the Stoney Creek Inn, 300 Third St., in Sioux City on Monday, Jan. 20, and Tuesday, Jan. 21 at the Arrowwood Resort and Conference Center in Okoboji. Both presentations are scheduled from 6:30 to 8 p.m. and are free and open to the public.

Andrews has worked in the biotech industry for 28 years, focusing the last 15 years on finding ways to extend human lifespan through the intervention of telomere shortening in human cells.

He is founder and CEO of Sierra Sciences, which is focused on discovering compounds that can induce telomerase, an enzyme that repairs telomeres. Telomeres are a part of a cells structure thought to play a role in aging and diseases like cancer, osteoarthritis and Alzheimers disease.

Andrews earned his Ph.D. in molecular and population genetics at the University of Georgia in 1981. He was a senior scientist at Armos Corporation and Codon Corp., director of Molecular Biology at Codon and at Geron Corp., and director of Technology Development at EOS Biosciences.

While at Geron from 1992 to 1997, Andrews was one of the principal discoverers of both the RNA and protein components of human telomerase. He was awarded 2nd place as "National Inventor of the Year" in 1997 for this work.

He is presently a named inventor on 35 US issued telomerase patents.

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Biotech researcher to speak in Siouxland about longevity

BY Sherri Cruz

January 15 - 2014 5:45 PM

ED CRISOSTOMO

Gregory Benford

The Methuselah fruit fly lives for about four months four times longer than an ordinary fruit fly.

Theyre also more vigorous. They beat up the other flies and take their women away, says Gregory Benford, a retired UC Irvine physics professor.

Benford, 72, is co-founder of Genescient Corp., a Fountain Valley research and development company that studies fruit flies to learn how to slow human aging and aging-related diseases, such as Alzheimers.

Genescients work is based on the research of Michael Rose, a UCI professor and evolutionary biologist whos been studying aging for more than 30 years. He created the Methuselah fly breed.

Using what has been learned from the Methuselah flies, Genescient is working to develop supplements to help human genes age better. Aging is mostly the failure to repair, Benford says.

Genescients latest drug, which delays the onset of Alzheimers in fruit flies, is now being tested in humans. In October, the company began a year-long trial of the supplement with 35 human patients who are in the intermediate stage of Alzheimers.

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Flying High

11 hours ago After hunting chimpanzees share a red colobus monkey. Credit: Roman M. Wittig / Ta Chimpanzee Project

The ability to form long-term cooperative relationships between unrelated individuals is one of the main reasons for human's extraordinary biological success, yet little is known about its evolution and mechanisms. The hormone oxytocin, however, plays a role in it. Researchers of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, measured the urinary oxytocin levels in wild chimpanzees after food sharing and found them to be elevated in both donor and receiver compared to social feeding events without sharing. Furthermore, oxytocin levels were higher after food sharing than after grooming, another cooperative behaviour, suggesting that food sharing might play a more important role in promoting social bonding. By using the same neurobiological mechanisms, which evolved within the context of building and strengthening the mother-offspring bond during lactation, food sharing might even act as a trigger for cooperative relationships in related and unrelated adult chimpanzees.

Humans and a few other social mammals form cooperative relationships between unrelated adults that can last for several months or years. According to recent studies the hormone oxytocin, which facilitates bonding between mother and offspring, likely plays a role in promoting these relationships. In chimpanzees, for instance, increased urinary oxytocin levels are linked to grooming between bonding partners, whether or not they are genetically related to each other.

To examine the ways in which oxytocin is associated with food sharing, Roman Wittig and colleagues of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig have collected and analyzed 79 urine samples from 26 wild chimpanzees from Budongo Forest in Uganda within one hour after the chimpanzees either shared food or socially fed without sharing. The result: A chimpanzee's urine contained significantly higher levels of oxytocin after sharing food with another group member than just after feeding socially regardless whether the animal was the donor or the receiver of the food. "Increased urinary oxytocin levels were independent of whether subjects gave or received food, shared with kin or non-kin, shared with an established bond partner or not, or shared meat or other food types", says Roman Wittig.

In addition, the researchers found that the oxytocin levels associated with food sharing were higher than those associated with grooming, indicating that the rarer food sharing has a stronger bonding effect than the more frequently occurring grooming. "Food sharing may be a key behaviour for social bonding in chimpanzees", says Wittig. "As it benefits receivers and donors equally, it might even act as a trigger and predictor of cooperative relationships."

The researchers further suggest that food sharing likely activates neurobiological mechanisms that originally evolved to support mother-infant bonding during lactation. "Initially, this mechanism may have evolved to maintain bonds between mother and child beyond the age of weaning", says Wittig. "It may then have been hitch-hiked and is now also promoting bond formation and maintenance in non-kin cooperative relationships."

The Latin roots of the word companion ('com = with' and 'panis = bread') may indicate a similar mechanism to build companionship in humans. Whether human urinary oxytocin levels also increase after sharing a meal with others will be a subject for future studies.

Explore further: Chimpanzees: Hormone oxytocin likely to play key role in maintaining social relations with cooperation partners

More information: Roman M. Wittig, Catherine Crockford, Tobias Deschner, Kevin E. Langergraber, Toni E. Ziegler and Klaus Zuberbhler, Food sharing is linked to urinary oxytocin levels and bonding in related and unrelated wild chimpanzees, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 15 January 2014, DOI: dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.3096

Animals which maintain cooperative relationships show gains in longevity and offspring survival. However, little is known about the cognitive or hormonal mechanisms involved in cooperation. Researchers of ...

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Higher hormone oxytocin levels in chimpanzees who share food

Human beings and other primates have an extremely slow metabolism rate. They burn almost 50 percent fewer calories each day than other mammals, which is why they have a longer lifespan, say scientists.

The key to longevity is a slow metabolism rate, say scientists.

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Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition

Humans and other primates burn 50 percent fewer calories each day than other mammals and due to their low metabolism rate, they have a longer life span, according to a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Overall, 17 primate species, such as humans, gorillas, and mouse lemurs were examined for the purpose of the study.

The international group of scientists who carried out the study worked with animals in zoos, sanctuaries in Africa, and in the wild.

Daily energy expenditure of the primates was calculated using a technique called "doubly labeled water," Herman Pontzer, an anthropologist at Hunter College in New York and the lead author of the study, told The Monitor.

Water contains hydrogen and oxygen. Some of the hydrogen and oxygen in the water were being replaced with their variants, also called isotopes, Dr. Pontzer says. After animals drink water, these isotopes would then act as tracers and their presence could be found in their urine. By determining the concentration of isotopes from the urine sample, Pontzer and his team determined how much carbon dioxide the body produced. Over a 10-day period, scientists measured the number of calories primates burned, says Pontzer.

Comparing the results of the experiment with similar data from other studies, the team compared daily energy expenditure among primates to that of other mammals, according to a press release by Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo. Chimpanzees and gorillasfrom the zoo were examined for the study.

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What is the secret to your longevity? (+video)

New York, Jan 14 (IANS): In a discovery that can lead to new understanding about human health and longevity, researchers have found that humans and other primates burn 50 percent fewer calories each day than other mammals. Humans, chimpanzees, baboons and other primates expend only half the calories we would expect for a mammal.

To put that in perspective, a human - even someone with a very physically active lifestyle - would need to run a marathon each day just to approach the average daily energy expenditure of a mammal their size, said Herman Pontzer, an anthropologist at Hunter College in New York and the lead author of the study.

These remarkably slow metabolisms explain why humans and other primates grow up so slowly and live such long lives.

Most mammals, like the family dog, live a fast-paced life, reaching adulthood in a matter of months, reproducing prodigiously and dying in their teens if not well before.

By comparison, humans and our primate relatives (apes, monkeys, lorises, and lemurs) have long childhoods, reproduce infrequently, and live exceptionally long lives, said the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Scientists examined daily energy expenditure in 17 primate species - from gorillas to mouse lemurs - to test whether primates' slow pace of life results from a slow metabolism.

Using a safe and non-invasive technique known as 'doubly labeled water', - which tracks the body's production of carbon dioxide - the researchers measured the number of calories that primates burned over a 10-day period.

The results were a real surprise. This dramatic reduction in metabolic rate, previously unknown for primates, accounts for their slow pace of life, said Pontzer.

The research also sheds light on the fact that zoo-housed primates are relatively active, with the same daily energy expenditures as wild primates, said co-author Steve Ross from Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo.

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Humans burn only half the calories daily

Jan. 13, 2014 New research shows that humans and other primates burn 50% fewer calories each day than other mammals. The study, published January 13 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that these remarkably slow metabolisms explain why humans and other primates grow up so slowly and live such long lives. The study also reports that primates in zoos expend as much energy as those in the wild, suggesting that physical activity may have less of an impact on daily energy expenditure than is often thought.

Most mammals, like the family dog or pet hamster, live a fast-paced life, reaching adulthood in a matter of months, reproducing prodigiously (if we let them), and dying in their teens if not well before. By comparison, humans and our primate relatives (apes, monkeys, tarsiers, lorises, and lemurs) have long childhoods, reproduce infrequently, and live exceptionally long lives. Primates' slow pace of life has long puzzled biologists because the mechanisms underlying it were unknown.

An international team of scientists working with primates in zoos, sanctuaries, and in the wild examined daily energy expenditure in 17 primate species, from gorillas to mouse lemurs, to test whether primates' slow pace of life results from a slow metabolism. Using a safe and non-invasive technique known as "doubly labeled water," which tracks the body's production of carbon dioxide, the researchers measured the number of calories that primates burned over a 10 day period. Combining these measurements with similar data from other studies, the team compared daily energy expenditure among primates to that of other mammals.

"The results were a real surprise," said Herman Pontzer, an anthropologist at Hunter College in New York and the lead author of the study. "Humans, chimpanzees, baboons, and other primates expend only half the calories we'd expect for a mammal. To put that in perspective, a human -- even someone with a very physically active lifestyle -- would need to run a marathon each day just to approach the average daily energy expenditure of a mammal their size."

This dramatic reduction in metabolic rate, previously unknown for primates, accounts for their slow pace of life. All organisms need energy to grow and reproduce, and energy expenditure can also contribute to aging. The slow rates of growth, reproduction, and aging among primates match their slow rate of energy expenditure, indicating that evolution has acted on metabolic rate to shape primates' distinctly slow lives.

"The environmental conditions favoring reduced energy expenditures may hold a key to understanding why primates, including humans, evolved this slower pace of life," said David Raichlen, an anthropologist at the University of Arizona and a coauthor of the study.

Perhaps just as surprising, the team's measurements show that primates in captivity expend as many calories each day as their wild counterparts. These results speak to the health and well-being of primates in world-class zoos and sanctuaries, and they also suggest that physical activity may contribute less to total energy expenditure than is often thought.

"The completion of this non-invasive study of primate metabolism in zoos and sanctuaries demonstrates the depth of research potential for these settings. It also sheds light on the fact that zoo-housed primates are relatively active, with the same daily energy expenditures as wild primates," said coauthor Steve Ross, Director of the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo. "Dynamic accredited zoo and sanctuary environments represent an alternative to traditional laboratory-based investigations and emphasize the importance of studying animals in more naturalistic conditions."

Results from this study hold intriguing implications for understanding health and longevity in humans. Linking the rate of growth, reproduction, and aging to daily energy expenditure may shed light on the processes by which our bodies develop and age. And unraveling the surprisingly complex relationship between physical activity and daily energy expenditure may improve our understanding of obesity and other metabolic diseases.

More detailed study of energy expenditure, activity, and aging among humans and apes is already underway. "Humans live longer than other apes, and tend to carry more body fat," said Pontzer. "Understanding how human metabolism compares to our closest relatives will help us understand how our bodies evolved, and how to keep them healthy."

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Primate growing up with half the calories: New understanding about human health and longevity

Human beings and other primates have an extremely slow metabolism rate. They burn almost 50 percent fewer calories each day than other mammals, which is why they have a longer lifespan, say scientists.

The key to longevity is a slow metabolism rate, say scientists.

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition

Humans and other primates burn 50 percent fewer calories each day than other mammals and due to their low metabolism rate, they have a longer life span, according to a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Overall, 17 primate species, such as humans, gorillas, and mouse lemurs were examined for the purpose of the study.

The international group of scientists who carried out the study worked with animals in zoos, sanctuaries in Africa, and in the wild.

Daily energy expenditure of the primates was calculated using a technique called "doubly labeled water," Herman Pontzer, an anthropologist at Hunter College in New York and the lead author of the study, told The Monitor.

Water contains hydrogen and oxygen. Some of the hydrogen and oxygen in the water were being replaced with their variants, also called isotopes, Dr. Pontzer says. After animals drink water, these isotopes would then act as tracers and their presence could be found in their urine. By determining the concentration of isotopes from the urine sample, Pontzer and his team determined how much carbon dioxide the body produced. Over a 10-day period, scientists measured the number of calories primates burned, says Pontzer.

Comparing the results of the experiment with similar data from other studies, the team compared daily energy expenditure among primates to that of other mammals, according to a press release by Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo. Chimpanzees and gorillasfrom the zoo were examined for the study.

Go here to see the original:
What is the secret to your longevity?

Posted: Monday, January 13, 2014, 4:00 PM

MONDAY, Jan. 13, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Humans and other primates burn 50 percent fewer calories a day than other mammals, and this slow metabolism may explain why they grow so slowly and live much longer than other mammals, according to a new study.

Researchers assessed the amount of calories burned per day in 17 primate species ranging from gorillas to mouse lemurs. They lived in zoos, sanctuaries and in the wild.

"The results were a real surprise," study author Herman Pontzer, an anthropologist at Hunter College in New York City, said in a college news release.

"Humans, chimpanzees, baboons, and other primates expend only half the calories we'd expect for a mammal. To put that in perspective, a human -- even someone with a very physically active lifestyle -- would need to run a marathon each day just to approach the average daily energy expenditure of a mammal their size," he explained.

The study also found that primates in captivity burn as many calories a day as those in the wild. This suggests that physical activity may have less of an impact on daily energy expenditure than previously believed, the researchers pointed out.

The findings, published in this week's issue of journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could help improve understanding of human health and longevity.

For example, connecting the rate of growth, reproduction and aging to daily energy output may increase knowledge about the processes behind body development and aging. And further investigation into the relationship between physical activity and daily energy expenditure may improve understanding of obesity and other metabolic diseases, according to the researchers.

The investigators are now taking a closer look at energy output, physical activity and aging among humans and apes.

Read more from the original source:
Humans, Other Primates Burn Fewer Calories Than Other Mammals

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

13-Jan-2014

Contact: Sharon Dewar sdewar@lpzoo.org 312-742-2246 Lincoln Park Zoo

(Chicago Jan. 13, 2014) -- New research shows that humans and other primates burn 50% fewer calories each day than other mammals. The study, published January 13 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that these remarkably slow metabolisms explain why humans and other primates grow up so slowly and live such long lives. The study also reports that primates in zoos expend as much energy as those in the wild, suggesting that physical activity may have less of an impact on daily energy expenditure than is often thought.

Most mammals, like the family dog or pet hamster, live a fast-paced life, reaching adulthood in a matter of months, reproducing prodigiously (if we let them), and dying in their teens if not well before. By comparison, humans and our primate relatives (apes, monkeys, tarsiers, lorises, and lemurs) have long childhoods, reproduce infrequently, and live exceptionally long lives. Primates' slow pace of life has long puzzled biologists because the mechanisms underlying it were unknown.

An international team of scientists working with primates in zoos, sanctuaries, and in the wild examined daily energy expenditure in 17 primate species, from gorillas to mouse lemurs, to test whether primates' slow pace of life results from a slow metabolism. Using a safe and non-invasive technique known as "doubly labeled water," which tracks the body's production of carbon dioxide, the researchers measured the number of calories that primates burned over a 10 day period. Combining these measurements with similar data from other studies, the team compared daily energy expenditure among primates to that of other mammals.

"The results were a real surprise," said Herman Pontzer, an anthropologist at Hunter College in New York and the lead author of the study. "Humans, chimpanzees, baboons, and other primates expend only half the calories we'd expect for a mammal. To put that in perspective, a human even someone with a very physically active lifestyle would need to run a marathon each day just to approach the average daily energy expenditure of a mammal their size."

This dramatic reduction in metabolic rate, previously unknown for primates, accounts for their slow pace of life. All organisms need energy to grow and reproduce, and energy expenditure can also contribute to aging. The slow rates of growth, reproduction, and aging among primates match their slow rate of energy expenditure, indicating that evolution has acted on metabolic rate to shape primates' distinctly slow lives.

"The environmental conditions favoring reduced energy expenditures may hold a key to understanding why primates, including humans, evolved this slower pace of life," said David Raichlen, an anthropologist at the University of Arizona and a coauthor of the study.

Perhaps just as surprising, the team's measurements show that primates in captivity expend as many calories each day as their wild counterparts. These results speak to the health and well-being of primates in world-class zoos and sanctuaries, and they also suggest that physical activity may contribute less to total energy expenditure than is often thought.

See the original post:
Primates: Now with only half the calories!

New research shows that humans and other primates burn 50% fewer calories each day than other mammals. The study, published January 13 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that these remarkably slow metabolisms explain why humans and other primates grow up so slowly and live such long lives. The study also reports that primates in zoos expend as much energy as those in the wild, suggesting that physical activity may have less of an impact on daily energy expenditure than is often thought.

Most mammals, like the family dog or pet hamster, live a fast- paced life, reaching adulthood in a matter of months, reproducing prodigiously (if we let them), and dying in their teens if not well before. By comparison, humans and our primate relatives (apes, monkeys, tarsiers, lorises, and lemurs) have long childhoods, reproduce infrequently, and live exceptionally long lives. Primates' slow pace of life has long puzzled biologists because the mechanisms underlying it were unknown.

An international team of scientists working with primates in zoos, sanctuaries, and in the wild examined daily energy expenditure in 17 primate species, from gorillas to mouse lemurs, to test whether primates' slow pace of life results from a slow metabolism. Using a safe and non-invasive technique known as "doubly labeled water," which tracks the body's production of carbon dioxide, the researchers measured the number of calories that primates burned over a 10-day period. Combining these measurements with similar data from other studies, the team compared daily energy expenditure among primates to that of other mammals.

"The results were a real surprise," said Herman Pontzer, an anthropologist at Hunter College in New York and the lead author of the study. "Humans, chimpanzees, baboons, and other primates expend only half the calories we'd expect for a mammal. To put that in perspective, a human even someone with a very physically active lifestyle would need to run a marathon each day just to approach the average daily energy expenditure of a mammal their size."

This dramatic reduction in metabolic rate, previously unknown for primates, accounts for their slow pace of life. All organisms need energy to grow and reproduce, and energy expenditure can also contribute to aging. The slow rates of growth, reproduction, and aging among primates match their slow rate of energy expenditure, indicating that evolution has acted on metabolic rate to shape primates' distinctly slow lives.

Read more at the Lincoln Park Zoo.

Gorilla image via Shutterstock.

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Burning fewer calories: the elixir for longevity