The price of a long, healthy life may be reduced fertility | David Cox

Suppressing a hormone that governs metabolism boosts your chances of living to a grand old age, but there's a downsideWould you be prepared to sacrifice your fertility in order to live longer? It's an almost inconceivable dilemma, but one day we could be offered a choice between having children and enhancing our chances of reaching a grand old age.The idea that fertility and longevity may be intertwined was first mooted in the 1970s when gerontologist Tom Kirkwood, now at the University of Newcastle, proposed his "disposable soma" hypothesis. Over time, our bodies age as a result of natural degeneration or "wear and tear", and Kirkwood suggested that they have a limited energy budget that can either be used to repair damaged cells and halt this decline, or saved to allow us to reproduce.Thirty years on and advances in genomic techniques have enabled scientists to pinpoint one of the key molecular pathways involved in the ageing process, controlled by a hormone known as IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1).The link between this particular hormone and longevity was uncovered almost by chance, while biologists were studying the behaviour of a species of worm known as Caenorhabditis elegans. Worms have a special mechanism that kicks in when they're exposed to severe environmental stress: their levels of IGF-1 drop, putting them into a state of hibernation during which they're unable to procreate. But, crucially, they stay alive.In all mammals, including humans, IGF-1 is believed ...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: theguardian.com Blogposts Genetics Health Medical research Alzheimer's Immunology Ageing Science Source Type: news