Interviews on Aspects of Aging with Judith Campisi and Dena Dubal

Today I'll point out a pair of interviews with researchers Judith Campisi and Dena Dubal, in which they discuss quite different aspects of aging. Campisi's research has a heavy focus on cellular senescence in aging. Cells become senescent constantly in the body, most because they hit the Hayflick limit on replication imposed upon the somatic cells that are the overwhelming majority of cells in our tissues. Cells can also become senescent because of damage, or encouraged into senescence by the signaling of other, nearby senescent cells. Once senescent, cells are normally quickly removed by the immune system or programmed cell death mechanisms, but the balance between creation and destruction is disrupted with age, allowing the number of senescent cells to grow. These cells secrete a potent mix of signals that produce chronic inflammation and disruption of tissue structure and function, an important contribution to degenerative aging. Dubal, on the other hand talks about the well known gender difference in longevity. There are many, many theories as to why women life longer than men. It is a feature of species with mating patterns like our own, so it is unlikely to result from anything particularly human, such as median male versus median female lifestyle choices peculiar to our species, such as smoking. Evolution interacts with mating strategies to favor women in this way. Under the hood, identifying the mechanisms involved in the comparative longevity of women suffers ...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs