There are a number of ethical, social, and personal implications generated by the potential development and use of technologies that may extend human longevity by intervening in aging. Despite speculations about likely public attitudes toward life extension, to date there have been few attempts to empirically examine the public's perspective of these issues. Using open-ended survey questions via telephone interviews, this study explored the attitudes of 605 members of the Australian public toward the implications of life extension.
Vitamin E refers to a family of several compounds that possess a similar chemical structure comprising a chromanol ring with a 16-carbon side chain. The degree of saturation of the side chain, and positions and nature of methyl groups designate the compounds as tocopherols or tocotrienols. Vitamin E compounds have antioxidant properties due to a hydroxyl group on the chromanol ring. Recently, it has been suggested that vitamin E may also regulate signal transduction and gene expression.
Vasculature is essential for the sustained growth of solid tumors and metastases. Tumor cells surviving vascular-disruptive therapeutic intervention (especially those present at the tumor rim) can contribute to tumor regrowth. The aim was to strengthen, by carrier-mediated delivery of a chemotherapeutic, the curative effects of a bifunctional anti-vascular oligopeptide capable of inducing vascular shutdown and tumor shrinkage. For the in vitro experiments and animal therapy, ACDCRGDCFC-GG-(D)(KLAKLAK)(2) peptide (900 microM in D-PBSA, i.e.
Dietary restriction extends lifespan in many organisms, but little is known about how it affects hematophagous arthropods. We demonstrated that diet restriction during either larval or adult stages extends Aedes aegypti lifespan. A. aegypti females fed either single or no blood meals survived 30-40% longer than those given weekly blood meals. However, mosquitoes given weekly blood meals produced far more eggs.
Dietary restriction (DR) has been used for decades to retard aging in rodents, but its mechanism of action remains an enigma. A principal roadblock has been that DR affects many different processes, making it difficult to distinguish cause and effect. To address this problem, we applied a quantitative genetics approach utilizing the ILSXISS series of mouse recombinant inbred strains. Across 42 strains, mean female lifespan ranged from 380 to 1070days on DR (fed 60% of ad libitum [AL]) and from 490 to 1020days on an AL diet.
BACKGROUND: Lifespan extension is achieved through long-term application of dietary restriction (DR), and benefits of short-term dietary restriction on acute stress and inflammation have been observed. So far, the effects of short-term DR in humans are relatively unknown. We hypothesized that short-term DR in humans reduces the acute phase response following a well defined surgical trauma. METHODS: Thirty live kidney donors were randomized between 30% preoperative dietary restriction followed by 1 d of fasting (n=17) or a 4 d ad libitum regimen (n=13) prior to surgery.
INTRODUCTION: The incidence of genital prolapse depends on numerous factors. The contribution of race, gender and genetic factors is significant. However, additional factors of initiation, promotion and decomposition are necessary if a person with the genetic predisposition to genital prolapse begins to suffer from it. At least 50% of parous women are believed to suffer from genital prolapse of various degrees. Moreover, the prevalence of genital prolapse increases with age.
Hormesis, the beneficial effect of a mild stress, has been proposed as a means to prolong the period of healthy ageing as it can increase the average lifespan of a cohort. However, if we want to use hormesis therapeutically it is important that the treatment is beneficial on the individual level and not just on average at the population level. Long lived lines have been shown not to benefit from a, in other lines, hormesis inducing heat treatment in Drosophila melanogaster, D. buzzatii and mice.
A commentary is offered on the chapters that comprise the section on Theoretical Foundations, emphasizing novel contributions of each. Three additional points are then made. First, while the biology of reproductive aging may be common to all human populations, its actual course can be expected to vary between individuals and between populations depending on ecological conditions and developmental histories.
Journal of Genetics and Genomics = Yi Chuan Xue Bao
CoQ is an essential electron carrier in the mitochondrial respiratory chain of both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. It consists of a benzoquinone head group and a hydrophobic polyisoprenoid tail. The genes (COQ1-9) involved in CoQ biosynthesis have been characterized in yeast. In this study, we generated and molecularly characterized a mutant allele of a novel Drosophila gene, sbo, which encodes a protein that is predicted to catalyze the prenylation of p-hydroxybenzoate with the isoprenoid chain during the process of CoQ synthesis.