What does the aging clock show?
Nature has condemned man to inevitable death from the moment of birth; the natural instrument of execution is the aging process. According to modern scientific concepts, there are two main causes of aging: the accumulation of random (stochastic) errors in the genome or the implementation of a special genetic program in the body.
The first assumption dominates from the very beginning of gerontology to the present day. Indeed, experiments provide convincing evidence that DNA replication mechanisms sometimes work with errors, mitochondria generate reactive oxygen species, various physical and chemical influences cause mutations in nuclear and mitochondrial DNA, and these and many other factors accumulate over time.
All this leaves no doubt about the cause of aging and offers clear measures to combat it. Almost all experiments aimed at increasing the maximum longevity of animals are reduced to preventing or recovering from damage caused by the harmful effects of all of the above factors.
Many different approaches have been tested, but the maximum life expectancy remains unchanged. This clearly indicates that the concept of accumulation of stochastic physiological damage is incorrect and therefore the alternative concept of genetically programmed aging is correct.
In support of this conclusion, convincing experimental data have been obtained in the last decade that the process is directly controlled genetically: the dysfunction of one gene can increase the maximum life expectancy of animals (several times for some invertebrates). To date, about 80 such genes have been identified. However, this method of prolonging life turned out to be unsuitable for humans due to dangerous side effects. Currently, there are only unsubstantiated assumptions about the existence of a genetic aging program, but there has been no rational explanation for this until now.
A fundamentally new mechanism of programmed aging is presented in Alexander Trubitsyn's article The mechanism of programmed aging: The way to create a real remedy for senescence, published in the journal Current Aging Science.
The new mechanism turned out to be much more complicated than the mechanism of accumulation of stochastic physiological damage. Stochastic processes observed by researchers serve as a mechanism for the implementation of the aging program, and not its root cause, which must be combated.
From this mechanism of programmed aging and some other data, it follows that there are special bioenergetic aging clocks. It is these clocks that set the maximum species longevity. This watch allows you to interpret all the discovered phenomena related to aging and longevity: the nature of the effect of prolonging life with calorie restriction and numerous imitating effects. This gives us an opportunity to understand why some species of bats and birds live 10 times longer than related species of the same size, and the naked digger (Heterocephalus glaber) has an impressively longer lifespan compared to the house mouse.
The most important thing is that this watch opens up a fundamentally new way of finding means to control the aging process. Fundamental research in the field of molecular biology and related fields has already discovered the basic details of these watches, although even the authors of these studies are mostly unaware of the role of their discoveries in the mechanism of programmed aging. The data collected together give an idea of the molecular structure and functioning of the bioenergetics clock of aging. This allows us to outline practical studies on managing the course of these hours, and hence longevity. Three possible approaches to changing the course of this clock are obvious. Creating an up-to-date anti-aging remedy in the near future looks like a real possibility.
Elena Panasyuk, portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on Eurekalert materials: The mechanism of programmed aging: The way to creation a real remedy for senescence.