Browse: Home / Aging / Eternal youth only a stem cell away

Menu

Skip to content
  • About
  • Better Body Chemistry School
  • Book a health conversation
  • Speaking query
  • The “Big” Spoons
Header image

BBC

Small things can make a big difference to your health

advertisement

Menu

Skip to content
  • Home
  • Free Resources
    • 31 days to Better Body Chemistry
    • Willpower Report
    • Weight loss e-course
    • Better Body Chemistry for Expecting Moms
    • The ups and downs of insulin resistance
    • Candy Floss Boards
    • Weight tracker
  • Library
  • Shop
  • Lucky dip
  • Sound bites
  • Buy me a coffee
  • Contact

Eternal youth only a stem cell away

Posted by Dr Sandy on in Aging | 506 Views | Leave a response
WhatsApp
Reddit
Share
More
Tweet
Pin
Share

old stem cell trying to catch young stem cellOn paper at least, our bodies carry the capacity to refurbish our organs. Unfortunately, as you blow out the candles on another birthday cake, it is clear that our stem cells are not always fulfilling their potential.

The question is why stem cells fail us in our old age ?

Progeria allows us to peak into aging

Waiting for animals to age naturally takes too long, so researchers interested in studying aging often study the aging disease known as progeria.

Progeria is the very rare inherited condition where individuals age extremely rapidly – so a 10 year old has a body reminiscent of someone living in an old age home.

Scientists have been able to insert the gene which is defective in progeria into mice, creating mice that become old before their time. Progeria mice die of old age around 21 to 28 days i.e. they die of old age when they are 1 month old.

Defunct stem cells in progeria

When researchers look at the state of stem cells in a mice suffering from progeria, these cells are underperforming.

As expected, the stem cells behave like stem cells isolated from very old mice i.e. there are few cells circulating, their replication is very slow and they fail regenerate damaged tissue.

But, the stem cells are still capable….

Old stem cells have just lost their spark

When researchers from the University of Pittsburgh injected mice suffering from progeria with a shot of healthy stem cells from normal animals, the animals perked up.

They lived a lot longer – some of the animals lived beyond 66 days.

They lived a lot “happier” because they didn’t lose as much muscle mass so there was less trembling and slow, awkward movements.

The pick up was not because the healthy young stem cells stepped up to the plate and performed stem cell tasks.

The improvement was mediated by the tired barely functioning stem cells of the progeria mice.

Young stem cells provide the spark

The research team think the healthy stem cells were able to produce a chemical cocktail that put the spark back into the “old” stem cells.

The exact identity of these chemicals is still a mystery, but experiments performed in the lab confirm that hanging around young stem cells can invigorate old stem cells.

Put the essence of youth in a bottle

For years experts have advocated hanging around younger people as a strategy to maintain youth.

The idea being youthful patterns of behaviour some how rub off . The principle may apply at a cellular level as well.

Let’s hope they figure out how to bottle the essence of youth someday soon.

Muscle-derived stem/progenitor cell dysfunction limits healthspan and lifespan in a murine progeria model. Nature Communications (2012) 3: 608.  Mitra Lavasani, Andria R. Robinson, Aiping Lu, Minjung Song, Joseph M. Feduska, Bahar Ahani, Jeremy S. Tilstra, Chelsea H. Feldman, Paul D. Robbins, Laura J. Niedernhofer, Johnny Huard.
 

Interested in learning more about the chemistry behind aging ?

Subcribe to E-spoons, to get e-mail updates once a month to learn how to keep your body chemistry balanced so you sip from the fountain of youth.

View previous E-spoons.

Close

NOTE : Privacy & spam policy. Spoonful of Science will not rent, trade or sell the e-mail list to anyone. You can unsubscribe at any time by following the unsubscribe link.

Know someone who will find this post useful ? Share it on facebook, linkedin, twitter

Further reading

skin stem cell beautifyin at night bone ironing out skin wrinkles mesenchymal stem cell having to choose
Your body’s beauty therapists  are only active at night  Did you know skin wrinkles are a sign of bone wrinkles ? Are your stem cells choosing to be fat cells rather than bone cells ?

The 7 Big Spoons™…. are master switches that turn health on.

balance eicosanoids rein in insulin dial down stress sleep vitamin D microflora think
Balance Eicosanoids Rein in insulin Dial down stress Sleep ! Increase Vit D Culivate microflora Think champion

Hire Dr Sandy from a Spoonful of Science to be the keynote speaker at your next event.

Did you learn something new or do you have a different perspective ? I’d love to hear from you so post me a comment below

Share Button
WhatsApp
Reddit
Share
More
Tweet
Pin
Share
Posted in Aging | Tagged aging, muscle, progeria, stem cells, youth

Connect with us

facebook you tube pinterest 40 google plus 40 Linkedin

FEELING….

sign posts then you need better body chemistry.

Grab our free E-course

“31 days to better body chemistry”

The advice is simple to follow and based on REAL science, not hype

Need more information ? Click here

  • Popular
  • Featured
  • Recent
  • asprosin the sugar plum fairy

    Why sugar levels are high despite NOT eating

    20087 views / Posted
  • poop getting stuck

    The fix for constipation is to go on a low fibre diet

    19385 views / Posted
  • oatmeal breakfast being beaten by egg

    Which is a better breakfast, egg or oatmeal ?

    18938 views / Posted
  • chewing gum relieving postoperative ileus

    A stick of chewing gum gets the gut going after surgery

    16677 views / Posted
  • carbonated water bubbles fill you up

    Fizzing up the water flattens your appetite

    15469 views / Posted
  • sun extracting cholesterol

    Make sure you have your “annual” check-up in the summer time

    / Dr Sandy
  • sending your kid to bootcamp won't stop childhood obesity

    Moving more won’t stop your kid from getting fat

    / Dr Sandy
  • cholesterol at the scene of the accident

    Bone cells are stiffening up your arteries not cholesterol

    / Dr Sandy
  • brain size the problem in ADHD

    Are kids with ADHD just acting according to their brain age

    / Dr Sandy
  • plastering the blood vessel with calcium

    Calcium supplements are building bones and breaking hearts

    / Dr Sandy
  • If you’re glucose intolerant ALWAYS carry an apple with you for EMERGENCIES

    / Dr Sandy
  • sandman whipping up a fall asleep potion

    Hot eyes fall asleep faster

    / Dr Sandy
  • HOT or COLD – which is better metabolically speaking ?

    / Dr Sandy
  • A eye healthy diet should include eggs

    / Dr Sandy
  • It’s official – you cannot out run a bad diet, your biology won’t let you

    / Dr Sandy

RSS Recent posts

Dr Sandy Dr Sandy Evans, PhD

Located in Johannesburg, South Africa

Book an appointment with Spoonful of Science using SetMore
Disclaimer : The stories and articles are provided as a service. Dr Sandy's opinions are for information only, and are not intended to diagnose or prescribe. For your specific diagnosis and treatment, consult your doctor or health care provider.
 
 

Connect with Dr Sandy

facebook 40
you tube 40
pinterest 40
google plus 40
linkedin 40
meetup 40
 

Categories

Featured posts

  • asprosin the sugar plum fairy

    Why sugar levels are high despite NOT eating

    20087 views / Posted
  • poop getting stuck

    The fix for constipation is to go on a low fibre diet

    19385 views / Posted
  • oatmeal breakfast being beaten by egg

    Which is a better breakfast, egg or oatmeal ?

    18938 views / Posted
 

©2011-2022 Spoonful of Science

Menu

  • Meet Dr Sandy
  • Disclosure/disclaimer
  • Privacy policy
  • Comment policy
  • Contact
Redirect Stakk
Thank You

Beat your SUGAR CRAVINGS, using biology, NOT psychology

Download our FREE REPORT entitled, "How to get the Willpower you Need to Trump Sugar's Power"

  • Do you have a sugar gremlin ?
  • Discover the biology behind sugar gremlins
  • Learn about the 10 weapons you can use to TAME YOUR SUGAR GREMLIN

Get instant access

WhatsApp
Reddit
Share
More
Tweet