Recent Episodes
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How to Live for More than 200 Years
Among the oldest animals are Bowhead whales which can live more than 200 years. That means some alive today were born when Napoleon Bonaparte was waging a war. Since they can grow to 60 feet and up to 200,000 pounds, the massive numbers of cell divisions required suggest they should have higher rates of cancer than humans and not live as long as they do. So, how do they do it?
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Caloric Restriction by Drugs Another Gift from our Microbiome
A lot more of us could be healthier if we ate less, and studies with animals show calorie restriction, or CR, can help them live longer. CR is eating fewer calories than the body needs while still getting enough nutrients. In animals from yeast to flatworms and monkeys, CR extended life and lowered risks for cancer and heart disease.
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Humans have Hibernation Genes
When animals hibernate, their heart rate and metabolism slow to a crawl and they can sleep for months without food or water and wake up fresh and alert with no muscle loss or organ damage. Extraordinary changes occur in hibernation: body temperatures drop, fat stores preserve the body, and biological aging stalls. It's possible humans carry genes to make something like hibernation possible.
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How about a Good Side Effect
A covid vaccine will alleviate your symptoms if you get the virus, but scientists found a surprising new benefit that's life changing. In people with skin and lung cancer, the vaccine upped their survival times when paired with a cancer treatment that doesn't work as well alone.
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Do you really Want to Know
Would you want to know as much as 20 years ahead whether you'd develop something like pancreatic cancer? We may soon be confronted with this question. Researchers have built an AI that predicts a person's risks for more than 1,000 diseases up to two decades before symptoms appear.
