Longevity Breakthrough: Mitochondria's Metabolic State Controls Life Span In Worms

Article

If you think life's too short, then you're not alone. A team of scientists set out to find what it would take to live a very long life and they made important discoveries that bring longer life spans much closer to reality. A new research report featured on the cover of The FASEB Journal, describes how scientists "activated" life extension in the roundworm C. elegans, and in the process discovered a new metabolic state correlating with long life.

To determine the cause of these metabolism changes, scientists created a new method for collecting cellular waste and studied it to identify the specific chemical reactions. They found that that the worms achieved long life through changes in how their cells extracted energy (metabolic state). Although C. elegans often is used as an animal model for human biology, more research is needed to determine if an equivalent metabolic state could be created in humans with the same results.

"This research on worms shows that the secret to a long life comes from how we extract energy from our food," commented Weissmann. "With any luck, we'll be able to change human life in the same direction: onward and upward!"

Ive noticed that it seems like more and more "longer life research" has been coming out somewhat recently. This is another article I found that may have a relation to possibly extending life in humans.

The scientists studied worms in this experiment, particularly their metabolism. They dont know yet if the same metabolic state would be able to be used with humans. Even if it dosent work, its still a new insight.

I could see a new "medication" coming out that would change how we extract energy from our food, that is, if this same method is used in humans.