Hourglass V
The fifth Hourglass blog carnival on the science of aging and longevity is hosted at psique: "It seems that prohibiting olfaction pharmacologically, by ablation of olfactory regions or genetic manipulation can result in an extension of life span, at least in C. elegans and Drosophila. Interestingly, [calorie restriction (CR)] and blocking olfaction appear to act in synergy, increasing life span most effectively when applied together, while exposure to food odours is capable of reducing the positive effects of CR to some extent. The obvious question is whether losing the sense of smell could also extend life span in humans. Failing the possibility of clogging up people's noses, Plunet proposes a straightforward test - one could compare the life span of anosmics, who are people that have chronically lost their ability to smell for a variety of reasons, to carefully matched controls."