- Researchers studying aging have found that cells tend to follow one of two aging pathways.
- How each individual cell ages is determined from the start, and scientists can predict how a cell will age based on early observations.
- Scientists hope their work can lead to therapies that delay aging in humans.
Human life is finite. It’s a bummer, but that’s how life works, at least on our planet, so it’s only natural that scientists have been trying to “cure” aging for a long, long time. Occasionally a new discovery is made regarding the aging process, bringing us closer to understanding exactly how it works and offering us clues as to how we might alter the process.
Now researchers at the University of California, San Diego have discovered that what they say are two different pathways that cells can take as they age. The research, which was published in the magazine. ScienceIt brings us a little closer to a day maybe to slow down or even stop the cellular aging process.
How quickly our bodies age depends on our cells. Over time, cellular DNA breaks down, causing various problems and eventually ending our lives in one way or another. This new research used yeast as an analogue for human skin or stem cells and sought to determine if there was any wiggle room for cellular aging. As a result, the researchers discovered that cells tend to follow one of two pathways, and appear to follow these pathways regardless of external stimuli or environmental conditions.
By studying yeast cells, the team found that one of the two regions of any cell is the first to show signs of deterioration.
Using microfluidics, computer modeling, and other techniques, they discovered that about half of cells age through a gradual decrease in the stability of the nucleolus, a region of nuclear DNA where key components of protein-producing “factories” are synthesized. ” Press release announcing the investigation explains. “In contrast, the other half aged due to dysfunction of their mitochondria, the cells’ energy-producing units.”
What is particularly interesting about this is that cells seem to progress along one of these two aging pathways almost from their inception. Even before cells show dramatic deterioration, their fates appear to be predetermined regardless of environmental factors.
“To understand how cells make these decisions, we identify the molecular processes underlying each aging pathway and the connections between them, revealing a molecular circuitry that controls cellular aging, analogous to the electrical circuits that control household appliances,” Nan Hao , lead study author, said in a statement.
The researchers hope their work can lead to gene therapies that can slow the aging process, leading to a dramatic increase in human life by delaying aging at the cellular level.
Mike Wehner has reported on technology and video games for the past decade, covering the latest news and trends in virtual reality, handheld devices, smartphones, and future technology. Most recently, Mike served as technical editor at The Daily Dot, and has appeared on USA Today, Time.com, and countless other websites and in print. His love of reporting is second only to his addiction to games.
.
