FuturePundit provides more commentary on recent research into the consequences of age-related damage to cellular mitochondria. "Failures in mitochondria due to aging are suspected of causing atherosclerosis and heart disease ... Mentally I file this under 'Totally Unsurprising'. Mitochondria have their own DNA for some of their proteins. Some gerontologists (e.g. Aubrey de Grey) theorize that the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) acts as a sort of Achilles Heel in cellular metabolism and cellular aging. Very reactive chemical compounds get generated in mitochondria by breaking down sugar and some of those compounds occasionally break loose and fly into the mtDNA causing damage. So mtDNA might accumulate damage at a much faster rate than DNA in the nucleus."
29
May
2005
More On Mitochondrial Aging
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First Steps
The Causes of Aging
- Accumulating AGEs
- Buildup of Amyloid Between Cells
- The Failing Adaptive Immune System
- The Failing Innate Immune System
- Declining Lysosomal Function
- Mitochondrial DNA Damage
- Nuclear DNA Damage
- Buildup of Senescent Cells
- Other Causes of Aging
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Required Reading
- Calorie Restriction
- The Community, Visualized
- Cryonics
- Engineered Negligible Senescence
- Envisaging a World Without the FDA
- How to Argue for Longevity Science
- Introductory Articles
- The Odds of Human Longevity Mutations
- The Need For Activism and Advocacy
- Stem Cells, Regenerative Medicine
- Twelve Ways to Extend Mouse Life Span
- Transhumanism and Human Longevity
- The Vital Debate in Aging Research
- What is Anti-Aging?
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