Category: Uncategorized

August 04, 2024 Alpha-Gal Syndrome – Ever Heard of It? Alpha-Gal is not a late-night comedian’s joke about your wife? It’s a real disease that comes about in an unusual way. It all starts with a tick bite. That tick injects a tiny bit of “alpha-gal” sugar into its victim, and that induces an allergy… Continue reading Alpha-gal Syndrome, Ever Heard of It?

July 28, 2024 Hallmark of Aging 12 Dysbiosis What’s dysbiosis? It essentially means the disordered distribution of bacteria in one’s colonic/gut biome. It’s been quite a journey, exploring the functions of our gut biome. We first knew the gut was where food went in and digestion happened. Then we added protection against dangerous bugs and… Continue reading Hallmark of Aging 12 Dysbiosis

July 21, 2024 Hallmark of Aging 11, Inflammation Inflammation increases with aging. No kidding! Does anyone not feel that? Those systemic effects work their way down to observable phenomena like large, aching knuckles, coronary artery disease, spine degeneration with disk collapse, and vision deterioration. There are many inflammatory cytokines but they are synthesized into a… Continue reading Hallmark of Aging 11 Inflammation

July 14, 2024 Hallmark of Aging 10 – Altered Intercellular Communication How did altered intercellular communication make the list? What on earth is that about? To understand it helps to conceptualize us as assemblies of cells. We started as a single-cell organism both at conception, as well as 3 billion years ago. Each of those… Continue reading Hallmark of Aging 10 – Altered Intercellular Communication

July 07, 2024 Hallmark of Aging 9 – Stem Cell Exhaustion Aging is associated with a gradual degradation of stem cells to replace the worn-out cells in any particular organ. Each organ appears to have its own source of stem cells and its mechanisms and means of eliciting their revival. Injury is a frequent cause… Continue reading Hallmark of Aging 9 – Stem Cell Exhaustion

July 01, 2024 Hallmarks of Aging 8 – Cellular Senescence We are up to eight Hallmarks! Two to go! Cellular senescence caught my curiosity. The fact that there is now an international organization dedicated to studying cellular senescence speaks to the seriousness that people are now giving this topic. Every tissue makes senescent cells, at… Continue reading Hallmark of Aging 8 – Cellular Senescence

June 23, 2024 Hallmark of Aging 7, Mitochondrial Dysfunction You are 10% mitochondria by weight. They are your powerhouses inside each cell where they turn the energy of carbohydrates and fats into carbon dioxide and water. Like a carefully tuned engine they work well when the energized electrons have some place to go…like exercise using… Continue reading Hallmark of Aging 7 – Mitochondrial Dysfumction

June 15, 2024 Hallmark of Aging 6 Deregulated Nutrient-Sensing This is one of the most preserved genes in all living cells. There is a choice! Lots of nutrients and you can grow, blossom, reproduce and die, or you can have less nutrients and hunker down and live longer. Can’t have both. You choose. Valter Longo described… Continue reading Hallmark of Aging 6 Deregulated Nutrient Sensing

June 09, 2024 Hallmark of Aging 5 – Disabled MacroAutophagy Here is another mouthful to learn about. MacroAutophagy, or just autophagy for short. It’s how we get rid of the big stuff. In everyday life, your regular garbage goes out in the trash can. If it’s too big, you call the company and ask for… Continue reading Hallmark of Aging 5 – Decreased Autophagy

June 02, 2024 Hallmark of Aging 4, Proteostasis Whew, I bet that pulls you up short. Can you pronounce that? Do you have a clue why it would be on the list? Or what it even means? Proteostasis. It all starts with your “proteome”. That’s the universe of all your proteins. Just like the genome… Continue reading Hallmark of Aging 4 Proteostasis