Our mission is to fight aging through science while protecting the health and life we have today.

Aging is associated with interconnected biological processes, including genomic instability, cellular senescence, epigenetic alterations, mitochondrial dysfunction, chronic inflammation, loss of proteostasis, and stem cell exhaustion.

Although no intervention has been scientifically proven to stop human aging or deliver biological immortality, decades of medical research have established powerful strategies for preventing disease, reducing premature mortality, and preserving physical and cognitive function.

Here are 100 practical strategies to help you live a longer, healthier life and potentially benefit from future advances in longevity medicine.

Eliminate Smoking, Vaping, and Alcohol

- Never smoke cigarettes. Cigarette smoking increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and premature death.

- Avoid cigars and other combustible tobacco products. Burning tobacco releases carcinogens and toxic compounds that damage the lungs, blood vessels, and other tissues.

- Avoid secondhand smoke. Passive exposure increases cardiovascular and respiratory risks, even among people who have never smoked.

- Do not start vaping. E-cigarette aerosols can expose the respiratory and cardiovascular systems to harmful substances. Their long-term effects remain incompletely understood.

- Quit smoking as early as possible. Smoking cessation substantially reduces disease and mortality risks, and many health benefits begin soon after quitting.

- Use evidence-based smoking cessation treatments. Behavioral counseling and approved medications can significantly improve the likelihood of successful tobacco cessation.

- Avoid alcohol for maximum risk reduction. Alcohol is a recognized human carcinogen. Even relatively low consumption increases the risk of certain cancers.

- Never consider red wine an anti-aging treatment. Evidence does not establish that drinking alcohol improves longevity. Polyphenols can be obtained from foods without ethanol exposure.

Build Exceptional Cardiovascular Fitness

- Exercise aerobically every week. Aim for 150–300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity or 75–150 minutes of vigorous activity, or an equivalent combination.

- Walk consistently. Walking supports cardiovascular health, glucose regulation, circulation, physical function, and overall fitness.

- Cycle regularly. Cycling strengthens aerobic capacity and can provide cardiovascular benefits with relatively low joint impact.

- Swim when possible. Swimming provides whole-body aerobic exercise and can be particularly useful for people seeking lower-impact activities.

- Consider running or jogging if appropriate. These activities improve cardiorespiratory fitness, although intensity should match your fitness level and medical circumstances.

- Improve your VO₂ max. Higher cardiorespiratory fitness is strongly associated with lower mortality risk. Progressively challenging aerobic exercise can improve this measure.

- Reduce prolonged sedentary behavior. Interrupt long periods of sitting with movement, standing, or brief walks.

- Gradually increase your physical activity. Consistency and progressive adaptation are more valuable than unsustainable exercise programs.

- Include appropriately challenging aerobic sessions. Higher-intensity exercise can improve fitness when introduced safely and balanced with adequate recovery.

- Make physical activity a lifelong habit. Sustained exercise helps preserve cardiovascular, metabolic, muscular, and functional health across adulthood.

Maintain Muscle, Strength, and Physical Independence

- Perform resistance training at least twice weekly. Train all major muscle groups to maintain strength, muscle mass, and physical function.

- Practice progressive overload. Gradually increase resistance, repetitions, or training difficulty as your capabilities improve.

- Preserve skeletal muscle. Muscle is essential for movement, glucose disposal, metabolic health, and independence.

- Prevent age-related sarcopenia. Resistance exercise and sufficient nutrition help counteract the progressive loss of muscle mass and strength.

- Strengthen your lower body. Strong legs support walking, climbing stairs, rising from chairs, and maintaining mobility.

- Strengthen your upper body and back. Adequate upper-body strength supports daily activities, posture, and functional capacity.

- Protect bone health. Resistance and suitable weight-bearing exercise help maintain bone strength and reduce age-related deterioration.

- Improve balance and mobility. Balance, coordination, and flexibility exercises help preserve movement quality and reduce fall risk, particularly in older adults.

Prioritize Sleep and Recovery

- Sleep approximately 7–9 hours nightly. Most healthy adults benefit from this amount, although sleep requirements vary.

- Maintain a consistent sleep schedule. Regular sleeping and waking times help regulate circadian rhythms.

- Protect your circadian rhythm. Seek daylight exposure during the day and reduce unnecessarily bright light close to bedtime.

- Sleep in a dark environment. Reduce artificial light and other nighttime disturbances.

- Keep your bedroom comfortably cool. A suitable sleeping temperature can support sleep quality.

- Reduce evening screen-related disruptions. Limit stimulating online activities and bright screen exposure when they interfere with falling asleep.

- Avoid caffeine too close to bedtime. Caffeine can delay sleep onset and impair sleep quality, with effects varying by individual.

- Investigate persistent insomnia. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is an established first-line treatment for chronic insomnia.

- Recognize possible sleep apnea. Loud habitual snoring, breathing pauses, and substantial daytime sleepiness warrant medical evaluation.

- Allow adequate exercise recovery. Recovery supports physiological adaptation, reduces excessive fatigue, and helps maintain sustainable exercise habits.

Follow a Mediterranean-Style Nutritional Pattern

- Build your diet around minimally processed plant foods. Vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds contribute to cardiovascular and metabolic health.

- Follow a Mediterranean dietary pattern. Clinical evidence supports its benefits for cardiovascular prevention, especially when based on extra-virgin olive oil, nuts, and other nutritious foods.

- Eat at least 400 grams of fruits and vegetables daily. Variety supports adequate micronutrient, fiber, and phytochemical intake.

- Eat leafy green vegetables. Spinach, kale, and similar foods provide folate, vitamin K, carotenoids, and other essential nutrients.

- Include cruciferous vegetables. Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts contain fiber and glucosinolate-derived compounds of scientific interest.

- Consume berries regularly. Blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries provide fiber and polyphenols as part of a healthy diet.

- Eat citrus fruits and other whole fruits. They provide vitamin C, fiber, potassium, and diverse phytochemicals.

- Include tomatoes and colorful vegetables. These supply carotenoids and other nutrients that support dietary diversity.

- Eat legumes frequently. Lentils, chickpeas, beans, and peas provide protein, fiber, minerals, and slowly digestible carbohydrates.

- Choose whole grains. Oats, barley, whole-grain bread, and brown rice provide fiber and important micronutrients.

- Consume nuts and seeds. Walnuts, almonds, flaxseeds, chia seeds, and pumpkin seeds supply unsaturated fats, minerals, and other valuable nutrients.

- Use extra-virgin olive oil as a principal culinary fat. It provides monounsaturated fatty acids and polyphenols and can replace foods rich in saturated fat.

Optimize Protein, Healthy Fats, and Digestive Health

- Consume adequate dietary protein. Protein supports muscle maintenance, tissue repair, immune function, and recovery from exercise.

- Adjust protein intake to your needs. Age, physical activity, health status, and resistance training can influence protein requirements.

- Distribute protein across meals. Including protein-rich foods throughout the day is a practical way to meet daily requirements.

- Include fish in your dietary pattern. Oily fish such as sardines and salmon supply EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids.

- Favor unsaturated fats over excessive saturated fats. Replacing saturated fats with unsaturated alternatives can improve LDL cholesterol and cardiovascular risk.

- Consume sufficient dietary fiber. Aim for approximately 25 grams daily or more when appropriate. Fiber supports bowel function, cholesterol regulation, and glycemic control.

- Support your intestinal microbiome through dietary diversity. Plant foods provide different fibers that intestinal microorganisms can metabolize into compounds such as short-chain fatty acids.

- Include nutritious fermented foods if tolerated. Plain yogurt and kefir can supply protein, calcium, and microbial cultures, although benefits depend on the product and individual.

Avoid Harmful Dietary Habits and Nutritional Deficiencies

- Limit processed meats. Frequent consumption is associated with increased colorectal cancer risk.

- Reduce sugar-sweetened beverages. Replacing them with water or unsweetened alternatives helps reduce excess sugar and energy intake.

- Limit nutritionally poor ultra-processed foods. Diets dominated by such foods are associated with adverse health outcomes, although processing alone does not determine nutritional quality.

- Avoid excessive energy intake. Consistently consuming substantially more energy than needed can promote excess adiposity and metabolic dysfunction.

- Avoid chronic undernutrition. Severe caloric restriction without medical supervision can cause muscle loss, nutritional deficiencies, and other complications.

- Meet your essential micronutrient requirements. Vitamin and mineral deficiencies can impair normal physiological function; supplementation should address genuine needs rather than speculative anti-aging claims.

- Maintain adequate hydration. Drink sufficient fluids to replace losses and support normal physiological function, adjusting for exercise, temperature, and medical needs.

- Avoid extreme detox diets. The liver, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, and other organs already perform essential metabolic and excretory functions. Commercial detox regimens generally lack convincing evidence of longevity benefits.

Protect Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health

- Monitor your blood pressure. Hypertension can damage the heart, brain, kidneys, and blood vessels without producing obvious symptoms.

- Understand LDL cholesterol. Elevated exposure to LDL-containing atherogenic particles contributes causally to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

- Check your lipid profile when appropriate. LDL cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides help assess cardiovascular risk.

- Consider ApoB testing when clinically useful. Apolipoprotein B provides an estimate of the number of circulating atherogenic lipoprotein particles.

- Monitor glucose regulation according to your risk. Blood glucose and HbA1c testing can help identify diabetes and prediabetes when screening is indicated.

- Walk after meals. Brief postprandial activity can improve glucose regulation and reduce glucose excursions.

- Maintain a healthy body composition. Avoid excessive visceral fat accumulation while also preserving sufficient skeletal muscle.

- Protect insulin sensitivity. Exercise, appropriate nutrition, adequate sleep, and weight management when indicated all contribute to metabolic health.

- Treat diagnosed cardiovascular risk factors. Evidence-based treatment of hypertension and dyslipidemia can prevent heart attacks, strokes, and other complications.

- Use medications for established clinical indications. Statins, antihypertensives, and appropriate diabetes treatments can provide major benefits to eligible patients. They should not be confused with unproven longevity prescriptions.

Use Evidence-Based Preventive Medicine

- Attend appropriate preventive medical appointments. Prevention and early treatment can reduce the burden of chronic disease.

- Learn your family medical history. Familial patterns of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and other conditions may affect screening recommendations.

- Follow age- and risk-appropriate cancer screening. Screening programs for certain cancers can reduce cancer-specific mortality when appropriately applied.

- Keep recommended vaccinations up to date. Preventing serious infections helps protect overall health and reduce complications.

- Brush your teeth twice daily with fluoride toothpaste. Good oral hygiene reduces dental decay and helps maintain healthy teeth and gums.

- Clean between your teeth regularly. Floss or suitable interdental cleaning tools help remove plaque from areas a toothbrush may not reach.

- Treat gingivitis and periodontal disease. Professional dental care and proper hygiene help preserve oral health and prevent progression of periodontal damage.

- Protect your skin from ultraviolet radiation. Use broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher sunscreen when appropriate, alongside shade, protective clothing, and avoidance of tanning beds.

Reduce Environmental Risks

- Limit exposure to fine particulate air pollution. PM2.5 contributes to cardiovascular and respiratory disease and premature mortality.

- Monitor outdoor air quality when relevant. On highly polluted days, consider adjusting the timing or location of strenuous outdoor activities.

- Avoid unnecessary traffic-related pollution exposure. Choosing routes farther from heavy traffic may reduce exposure to harmful airborne particles.

- Improve indoor air quality. Control pollution sources and ventilate appropriately when outdoor conditions allow.

- Consider HEPA filtration when useful. Properly sized and maintained HEPA air cleaners can reduce indoor airborne particulate concentrations.

- Avoid indoor smoking and unnecessary smoke exposure. Combustion-related pollutants can substantially deteriorate indoor air quality.

- Reduce avoidable exposure to harmful substances. Follow safety guidance for occupational chemicals, solvents, pesticides, and household products.

- Choose sustainable environmental precautions. Prioritize exposure reductions supported by evidence rather than becoming consumed by speculative environmental threats.

Protect Mental Health, Relationships, and Purpose

- Maintain meaningful social connections. Strong relationships are associated with better physical and mental health.

- Reduce chronic loneliness and social isolation. Both are associated with adverse health outcomes, particularly later in life.

- Manage chronic psychological stress. Exercise, healthy routines, relaxation, supportive conversations, and evidence-based therapy can help when needed.

- Seek professional care for persistent mental health symptoms. Depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions deserve appropriate assessment and treatment.

- Preserve your sense of purpose. Meaningful goals, learning, service, and participation in communities can support psychological well-being.

Support Scientific Progress Without Confusing Promise With Proof

- Learn the hallmarks of aging. Understanding cellular senescence, mitochondrial dysfunction, genomic instability, epigenetic alterations, stem cell exhaustion, and other mechanisms provides a foundation for evaluating longevity research.

- Follow emerging geroscience carefully. Rapamycin, senolytics, partial epigenetic reprogramming, autophagy modulation, and regenerative medicine have produced important preclinical findings, but clinical translation remains challenging.

- Distinguish animal results from human evidence. Lifespan extension in mice, worms, or flies does not establish that the same intervention extends human life.

- Avoid self-experimenting with unproven longevity drugs. Metformin, rapamycin, senolytics, NAD⁺ precursors, and other compounds have not been conclusively demonstrated to extend lifespan in healthy humans. Some carry important medical risks.

- Support rigorous longevity research. Encourage reproducible science, responsible clinical trials, transparent reporting, and biomedical innovation aimed at preventing, delaying, and potentially reversing age-related deterioration.

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THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE: WHAT IS ESTABLISHED AND WHAT REMAINS EXPERIMENTAL?

Strong clinical and public-health evidence supports:

- Avoiding tobacco and quitting smoking.

- Limiting or avoiding alcohol.

- Regular aerobic and resistance exercise.

- Controlling elevated blood pressure and atherogenic cholesterol.

- Following nutritious dietary patterns.

- Preventing and appropriately treating diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

- Vaccination and evidence-based cancer screening.

- Protecting against harmful ultraviolet radiation.

- Treating clinically significant sleep disorders.

- Maintaining sufficient physical activity and muscular function.

Promising but not yet proven to extend healthy human lifespan:

- Rapamycin and other pharmacological mTOR inhibitors for otherwise healthy people.

- Senolytic therapies targeting senescent cells.

- Partial epigenetic reprogramming using cellular reprogramming factors.

- NAD⁺ precursor supplementation for longevity.

- Metformin for lifespan extension in people without a clinical indication.

- Pharmacological autophagy enhancement.

- Telomerase-based interventions.

- Experimental stem cell rejuvenation and systemic regenerative therapies.

- Interventions targeting mitochondrial dysfunction.

- Biological age reversal measured by biomarkers as a reliable substitute for demonstrated reductions in disease and mortality.

The distinction matters: Improving a biological marker, extending an animal's lifespan, or reversing certain cellular aging features does not automatically establish that an intervention extends human lifespan.

OUR MISSION: FIGHT AGING THROUGH SCIENCE

The goal of longevity research is not merely to add years to human life, but to prevent the suffering, disease, disability, and physiological deterioration associated with aging.

We should not accept today's medical limitations as proof that future generations cannot overcome them. At the same time, genuine scientific progress requires rigorous evidence, careful experimentation, and intellectual honesty.

Longevity escape velocity remains a theoretical possibility rather than an established medical reality. Achieving it would require sustained advances capable of reducing age-related deterioration faster than it accumulates, together with effective protection against multiple causes of mortality.

Until then, our most powerful tools are the preventive strategies already supported by substantial scientific evidence.

Exercise consistently. Sleep sufficiently. Eat nutritiously. Maintain muscle. Protect your cardiovascular health. Avoid preventable harm. Care for your mental well-being. Support biomedical science.

Our mission at r/immortalists is not to surrender to aging, but to understand it, challenge it, and ultimately help humanity overcome its most devastating consequences through science, compassion, and perseverance.

We cannot guarantee immortality. But we can protect the life we have today while helping advance the discoveries that could transform the human future.

Never stop learning. Never stop improving. Never stop fighting for a healthier future.

— Dr. Georgios Andreas Ioannou

Creatine isn't just for bodybuilders or athletes. It's one of the most powerful and underrated tools we have for healthy aging. As we get older, our bodies naturally lose muscle, energy, and even some brain sharpness. But creatine can help fight back. It supports lean muscle, strengthens bones, boosts heart health, and even sharpens your memory and mental clarity. And the best part? It’s affordable, safe, and backed by hundreds of studies.

You can take creatine as a simple supplement, just 3 to 5 grams a day of creatine monohydrate is enough. There’s no need for complicated loading phases or big doses. Brands like Optimum Nutrition or Creapure make high-quality versions that are easy on the stomach. It mixes into water, juice, or your morning smoothie with ease. If you want the best form, look for something like micronized Creapure. It dissolves well and digests smoothly. Yes, creatine is found in red meat, poultry, and fish like salmon, but not in amounts big enough to reach the levels that help most with longevity and repair. That’s why supplementation is key, even for people who eat meat.

The brain benefits alone are amazing. Research has shown that creatine helps your brain produce energy more efficiently, protects neurons from oxidative stress, and can improve memory and mental processing speed. It’s especially helpful for older adults who may feel slower or foggier than they used to. It’s like brain fuel that also helps your muscles and bones stay strong. Studies show it even supports better mitochondrial function, those little energy factories inside every cell that keep us feeling young and energized.

Muscle and bone health matter more than most people realize. With age, it becomes harder to hold onto strength and balance, and that’s where creatine shines. Combined with even light exercise, creatine helps maintain strong muscle and better coordination, which means fewer falls, more independence, and greater energy. It even helps support cardiovascular health by improving the way your blood vessels work and possibly lowering risk markers like homocysteine.

So if you're looking for a simple way to stay sharp, strong, and healthy as the years go by, creatine is a no-brainer. It’s one of the most researched supplements in the world with over 500 studies proving its power and safety. It’s not just for the gym crowd. It’s for anyone who wants to protect their brain, boost their energy, and age with strength and clarity.

Another huge benefit of creatine is that it can help preserve physical independence as we age. Muscle strength is not only about looking fit or lifting heavy weights. Strong muscles help you stand up from a chair, walk faster, climb stairs, carry groceries, maintain balance, and protect yourself from falls. Losing muscle with age can slowly reduce independence, so maintaining strength should be considered a major part of healthy aging. Creatine combined with resistance training can make that process much easier and more effective.

Creatine is also incredibly convenient compared with many other supplements. You do not need complicated cycling schedules, expensive stacks, or perfect timing. The most important thing is simply taking it consistently. A daily dose of around 3 to 5 grams can be taken with breakfast, after exercise, in a smoothie, or at any other time that helps you remember it. Consistency over months and years matters much more than whether you take it at exactly the right minute before or after a workout.

Another reason creatine deserves more attention is its role in cellular energy. Creatine helps replenish ATP, the molecule your cells use as immediate energy. Every time your muscles contract, your brain processes information, or your body performs demanding work, ATP is being used. The creatine phosphocreatine system helps regenerate ATP rapidly. That is one reason creatine can improve repeated exercise performance, help people train harder, support recovery, and potentially help tissues with high energy demands such as skeletal muscle and the brain.

Creatine should therefore be viewed as much more than a bodybuilding supplement. Think of it as one tool in a complete healthy aging strategy. Combine creatine with resistance training, regular walking or cardiovascular exercise, sufficient protein, vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, good sleep, sunlight, stress management, and regular medical checkups. No supplement can replace a healthy lifestyle, but creatine may be one of the simplest additions you can make to help preserve muscle, strength, energy, cognitive function, and physical capability as you get older. The goal is not just to live longer, but to remain strong, mobile, independent, mentally sharp, and capable for as many of those years as possible. — Dr. Georgios Andreas Ioannou

If you care about living longer and feeling stronger, magnesium might be one of the most underrated tools you’re missing. It helps your brain, your heart, your muscles, your sleep. And studies are now showing it might even help you live a longer, healthier life. Magnesium isn’t just a mineral, it’s a life support system. But most people don’t get enough of it. Luckily, science now gives us clear answers on which forms are best, and how to use them to protect your future.

If your goal is deeper sleep, calmer nerves, or faster recovery from stress and exercise, magnesium glycinate is your go-to. It’s gentle on the stomach, absorbs well, and includes glycine: calming amino acid that helps you sleep deeper and feel more relaxed. People who take it often report waking up more refreshed and less tense, even after tough days. It’s like giving your nervous system a warm bath before bed.

Now if you want to keep your brain sharp as the years go by, magnesium L-threonate is the one to watch. It crosses into the brain better than any other form and has been shown in animal and human studies to improve memory, learning, and even brain aging. As we get older, our brain cells need more help. This form gives them what they need. Think of it as brain food on a molecular level.

For people focused on heart health and blood pressure, magnesium taurate is a game-changer. Taurine is an amino acid that works closely with the heart, and when combined with magnesium, it helps stabilize heart rhythms, calm the blood vessels, and reduce stress on your cardiovascular system. For those with high blood pressure or family history of heart disease, this combo is both protective and healing.

Magnesium malate is ideal if you’re often tired, sore, or feel like your energy runs low. It helps your cells produce more ATP, the energy currency of your body, and it’s especially good for muscle performance and people dealing with chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia. It works deep in your mitochondria (the powerhouses of your cells) to help turn food into clean, stable energy.

If you’re an athlete, or someone who just wants peak performance and endurance, magnesium orotate might be your best bet. It supports the heart muscle, boosts energy production, and has been studied for improving heart failure symptoms and athletic output. It’s a little more specialized, but for some people, it makes all the difference in stamina and recovery.

The good news is, you don’t have to rely only on supplements. Magnesium is found in real food: especially seeds, leafy greens, beans, and dark chocolate. Pumpkin seeds are especially powerful, with over 500 mg of magnesium per 100g. Almonds, spinach, black beans, and quinoa all add up. Combine a magnesium-rich diet with targeted supplementation and you build a foundation for long-term health from the inside out.

So if you're feeling overwhelmed, don’t be. Just start small. Add more greens, seeds, and nuts to your meals. Try a high-quality magnesium glycinate at night or experiment with L-threonate if your mind feels foggy. Your body is wise. It knows how to heal, restore, and regenerate. But it needs the right tools. Magnesium is one of them. Give it what it’s been missing, and you might just give yourself more years: full of clarity, strength, and peace.

Another reason magnesium matters so much is that it participates in hundreds of enzymatic reactions involved in energy production, DNA and protein synthesis, nerve signaling, glucose control, muscle contraction, and normal heart rhythm. That means magnesium is not working in just one system. It is involved across the entire body. When intake is too low, fatigue, muscle cramps, poor sleep, irritability, and reduced exercise recovery can become more noticeable. Keeping magnesium status adequate helps your cells function normally and supports the basic biological processes that keep your muscles, nervous system, metabolism, and cardiovascular system working efficiently.

When using a supplement, pay attention to the amount of elemental magnesium rather than only the total weight of the compound on the label. Different forms contain different percentages of actual magnesium, so two products with the same capsule weight may provide very different doses. Many people do well by starting with a modest dose and increasing only if needed and tolerated. Taking magnesium with food can reduce stomach discomfort, and splitting the dose between morning and evening can be useful if a larger daily amount is needed. Magnesium citrate can be helpful when constipation is also a problem, while forms such as glycinate are often preferred when gastrointestinal tolerance is the priority.

Magnesium works best as part of a complete healthy lifestyle rather than as a shortcut. Aim to get plenty from food first through pumpkin seeds, almonds, legumes, whole grains, leafy greens, and other minimally processed foods, then use supplementation to fill genuine gaps when appropriate. More is not always better, and very high supplemental doses can cause diarrhea or other problems. People with kidney disease or those taking certain medications should be especially cautious and discuss supplementation with a healthcare professional. The goal is not to chase the highest dose, but to maintain enough magnesium consistently to support sleep, muscle function, brain health, metabolic health, and healthy aging over the long term. — Dr. Georgios Andreas Ioannou

Abstract

During homeostasis, crowded cells with the lowest energy levels are eliminated by extrusion via Piezo1 signalling to maintain constant cell numbers. However, crowding-induced extrusion does not necessarily remove damaged or otherwise unfit cells. Here, we show that glucose or glutamine starvation triggers a rapid, regulated wave of extrusion, called starvation-induced cell extrusion (STICE), that selectively eliminates cells bearing DNA damage markers via a p53-dependent, Piezo1-independent pathway, improving monolayer fitness. Unlike non-extruding cells, which recycle contents through autophagy and lysosomal digestion, p53-activated cells instead use LC3 to drive lysosomal exocytosis, promoting extrusion signalling. By eliminating defective and transformed cells, STICE confers resistance to damage and apoptotic stimuli in the remaining monolayer. STICE thus acts as a tissue-level analogue of autophagy: rather than improving individual cells by digesting and recycling damaged components, it improves tissue fitness by eliminating substandard cells.

The FDA are officially adding aging and longevity as a focus point for research and medicine.

Thought I would share for any of those who want to see aging as a treatable condition!

ABSTRACT

The human gut hosts approximately 38 trillion bacteria, representing 400 to 500 species. Gut bacteria are in constant communication with the central nervous system (CNS) via the enteric nervous system (ENS), the peripheral nervous system (PNS), the autonomic nervous system (ANS), the immune system, the enteroendocrine system (EES), and the vagus nerve (VN). Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), especially butyrate, strengthen the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and modulate inflammatory signaling, thereby affecting brain function and cognitive performance. Acetate enhances the synthesis of lipid-rich myelin that protects neurons. Signaling molecules that cross the gut wall may optimize synaptic signaling in the frontal cortex. Bacterial metabolites that stimulate inflammatory responses activate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, thereby increasing glucocorticoid production. This may reduce activity in the prefrontal cortex and suppress higher-order thinking and decision-making. We discuss how signaling molecules produced by gut bacteria influence the limbic system (thalamus, amygdala, hypothalamus, and hippocampus), primarily involved in emotions, memory, and motivation. The HPA axis and the gut microbiota–oligodendrocyte axis (GMOA) are discussed in more detail. We ask whether interactions between signaling molecules produced by gut bacteria and the limbic system can affect human intelligence, cognition, consciousness, and decision-making, coordinated by the cerebrum (cerebral cortex), prefrontal cortex, and parietal lobe.

Are there any promising breakthroughs with AI tech and cancer? Will we be seeing better early detection in the next 10 years? More treatments?
This is what AI should be for, IMO.

I am a masters athlete and I eat well. In August my LDL came back at 4.7 mmol/L. Last year it was 4.05. In 2023 it was about 5.06. My family history includes heart disease, type 2 diabetes and dementia before 70. My doctor's target for me is 3.5 or lower. A statin was on the table.

I am also a molecular biologist, and I have my whole genome. So before I said yes or no, I asked my doctor for six weeks and ran the question against my own DNA. Here is what that looked like.

What the genome added

1. The monogenic check first. I scanned LDLR, APOB and PCSK9 for the known pathogenic familial hypercholesterolemia variants. None. If that had come back positive, this would have been a different post and a much shorter decision.
2. Polygenic risk. My LDL polygenic score (286 variants, PGS Catalog PGS002285) sits at the 15th percentile for Europeans. My coronary artery disease score (metaGRS, PGS000018, 1.7 million variants) sits at the 16th. Read those two next to an LDL of 4.7 and the picture changes. My genes are not pushing my LDL up. Something else is. That made a six-week lifestyle trial a rational first move rather than wishful thinking.
3. Pharmacogenetics. If we do start a statin, I checked SLCO1B1, the gene behind most statin muscle pain. I carry the normal-function genotype at rs4149056, which under the CPIC guideline means standard dosing of any statin with no added myopathy risk from this gene. That did not tell me whether to take one. It told me the common objection to taking one does not apply to me.

What the blood work added

LDL alone is a blunt number. My naturopath ordered ApoB and Lp(a). Lp(a) is mostly genetic and lifestyle does not move it, so if it is high the whole risk conversation changes regardless of what my LDL does. Results are pending. I will post them when they land.

What we decided

Six weeks on diet and training changes, then a recheck. My doctor's number is 3.5. If I hit it, we keep going and recheck again. If I do not, the statin conversation comes back and, thanks to the SLCO1B1 result, it will be a short one. The recheck is this month. I will post the number either way.

What I learned

The genome did not make the decision. It made the conversation with my doctor better. Instead of "your LDL is high, here is a prescription," we had "here is your baseline risk, here is which drug your liver handles fine, here is a number to hit, and here is what we do if you miss it."

More data was not the point. Knowing which three numbers mattered for me was the point.

Not medical advice. My numbers, my doctor, my decision.

Curious if anyone here has started researching MF-300 which is a 15-PGDH inhibitor so it counters age related decline of PGDH and thus increases regenerative signaling involved in muscle, stem-cell activity and tissue repair. Think “counter to anabolic resistance” in aging population (me sadly).

This has already progressed through clinal phase 1 trials, including testing in older adults, with reported target engagement and favorable tolerability. Development is now moving toward Phase 2b for sarcopenia.

The research compound is available through chemical suppliers but I find no research community engagement.

Is anyone researching? I’d be particularly interested in what you’ve found regarding sourcing/testing, pharmacokinetics, research protocols, or anything else that isn’t obvious from the published development data.