life span

Activation of retrotransposons in the animals’ cancerous cells sets off an innate immune response that triggers cell death.

Worms, flies, and yeast live longer if the fidelity of their protein-making machinery is improved, a study shows.

Mutations in both copies of SERPINE1 can result in blood clotting disorders, but carriers might enjoy longer lifespan and health benefits. 

A deletion in a growth hormone receptor gene is tied to an average of 10 extra years of life among men, but not women, according to a study.

Recolonizing middle-aged animals with bacteria from younger ones kept killifish alive longer than usual, researchers report.

A recent paper challenges earlier findings that germline factors expressed in normal body cells influence life span in C. elegans.

Certain plant stem cells rarely divide, a study shows, possibly fending off an accumulation of potentially harmful genetic mutations in some species.

A biotech company reports that an experimental treatment elongated its CEO’s telomeres. 

A round-up of recent discoveries in behavior research

How do we age, and can we slow it down?

Reactive oxygen species have opposing effects on roundworm longevity depending on whether these molecules are in the mitochondria or the cytoplasm.

The over-the-counter drug increases life span in yeast, nematode worms, and fruit flies, a study shows.