08
Mar
2006
Mitochondrial Leaks and Longevity
From The Scientist's present issue on healthy life extension and longevity research, a most interesting look at mitochondria: "Birds, bats, and humans live several times longer than their metabolic rates would suggest. The reason lies in the rate at which reactive oxygen species (ROS) leak out of the mitochondrial respiratory chain ... ROS leakage is so low in pigeons that they can afford to have much lower antioxidant levels than rats, and still live longer. The question is, why are pigeon mitochondria so leak-proof?" There may be other useful approaches to manipulating mitochondria for extended healthy life spans beyond outright repair and replacement of damage.
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