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UCLA Biologists Delay the Aging Process In Fruit Flies

Posted by Soulskill on from the mrs-frisby-and-the-fruit-flies-of-NIMH dept.

An anonymous reader writes:Life scientists at UCLA have located a gene in fruit flies which, when intentionally activated, increases lifespan by about 30%. The gene (called AMPK) is normal important as an energy sensor, usually triggered by cells with low energy levels. By triggering it at other times, the researchers slowed the fruit flies' aging process (PDF), even beyond the organ system in which the triggering occurred. "Walker said that the findings are important because extending the healthy life of humans would presumably require protecting many of the body's organ systems from the ravages of aging — but delivering anti-aging treatments to the brain or other key organs could prove technically difficult. The study suggests that activating AMPK in a more accessible organ such as the intestine, for example, could ultimately slow the aging process throughout the entire body, including the brain."

18 of 82 comments (clear)

  1. Old news by buck-yar · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Fitness community has been all over this for years http://suppversity.blogspot.co...

  2. Are they crazy? by nospam007 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I can't get rid of those beasts and they try to make them live longer?

    1. Re:Are they crazy? by Translation+Error · · Score: 2

      Personally, I live in dread of the day when we're overrun by immortal fruit flies and cancer-immune mice.

      --
      When someone says, "Any fool can see ..." they're usually exactly right.
  3. Re:Still the same old beta, I see... by rHBa · · Score: 2

    I'm still trying to work out how to search for posts on the mobile/beta version of the website. So far the only option I can see is to 'Request Desktop Site' which gives me the original Slashdot.

  4. Re:You've never had fruit flies? by dave1791 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Pour vinegar into a bowl. Add a bit of liquid soap, to lower the surface tension. Place it next to the place where you have your fruit fly infestation and wait a day or two.

  5. Economic Impacts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Let's assume for a moment this is scalable to humans and passes the requisite clinical trials. We'll treat this as a given in a Euclidian proof.

    Premise 1: Humans will live longer, but this treatment will be expensive
    Premise 2: In the absence of substantive reform that mitigates cost to the patient, regardless of socio-economic status, this will stratify the have and hane-nots further.
    Premise 3: We already have a culture of the "disposable employee" in many markets, especially in retail, food-service, housekeeping and hospitality
    Premise 4: Humans, being self-aware, fear death
    Premise 5: If unchecked, stagnant wages relative to inflation are going to exacerbate the current US status-quo in terms of younger working adults competing with Boomers who refuse to retire and becoming lower-wage workers who become "disposable labor."
    Conclusion: The extended lifespans are going to require some serious economic, legislative and even societal shifts to accomodate. We may very well have to adjust the age of adulthood, our expectations of what one does in the traditional "early adluthood" and we will have to once again consider retirement is either a feint, or address the issues surrounding labor, the shortage of jobs realtive to workers and living wages, else we will see longer lifespans in the absence of these changes creating serious economic reprecussions. It's great this technology exists, however, we have to consider policy implications in addition to the scientific advancement. I do realize that the model is a fruitfly, and is a long way from mammal models and even further away from human clinical trials, but with the state of the Western economies as they all seem to be (according to the media nayway), then we really need to stop and consider the rammifications of a 30% increase in human lifespans.

    1. Re:Economic Impacts by sinij · · Score: 2

      You can make similar argument for any life-saving treatment, for example cardiac-health related. Any serious heart-related issue used to be terminal, but we largely addressed this and in process greatly increased average lifespan. Now, if you get to a hospital in time you likely to survive.

      Technically, your conclusion is invalid due to hidden premise tied to your Premise 1. What you are trying to implicate with your hidden premise is that life-extending treatment will be forever unaffordable to masses. While possible, this clearly goes against all historical precedent. The likely outcome that at first it will be expensive and unaffordable, then eventually due to economies of scale nearly everyone will have access to it. This "eventually" is short enough that it won't create H. G. Wells' morlocks out of treated population.

    2. Re:Economic Impacts by Cragen · · Score: 2

      this will stratify the have and hane-nots further.

      All of your premises assume that the ideas of "Haves" and "Have nots" are even valid. I would, ultimately, say those ideas are incorrect. No one "gets out alive" so to concentrate on that which cannot be kept is ultimately unwise. The idea that "those that die (or live) with the most toys win!" is quite ignorant. The idea that having or not having something is improving or worsening your life is a waste of good time. It's all relative and therefore mental gymnastics at its worst. Time to Wake up.

    3. Re:Economic Impacts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      if a life extension pill can be made cheaply (its a genetic trigger protein made by gene engineered yeast, and grown in bioreactors by the tanker load). you could buy a year's supply for 20 dollars. after the patent runs up in the US at any rate.

      sure it would not be easily available to the extremely poor (think Liberia), but the average american could easily afford it after the patent period runs out.

    4. Re:Economic Impacts by phantomfive · · Score: 2

      Premise 5: If unchecked, stagnant wages relative to inflation are going to exacerbate the current US status-quo in terms of younger working adults competing with Boomers who refuse to retire and becoming lower-wage workers who become "disposable labor."

      I like your format, but there is a lot of assumption in this premise. I'd like to see it written out with more support, because historically where more labor is available, more jobs are created (although sometimes it takes time). Sometimes the jobs are silly things, like hiring someone to clip your toenails, but they're there.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  6. Re:You've never had fruit flies? by Zak3056 · · Score: 2

    Pour vinegar into a bowl. Add a bit of liquid soap, to lower the surface tension. Place it next to the place where you have your fruit fly infestation and wait a day or two.

    So apparently you CAN catch more (fruit) flies with vinegar than with honey?

    --
    What part of "shall not be infringed" is so hard to understand?
  7. Re:The have's and have nots by tomhath · · Score: 2

    Who gets medicine today? What's the impact of modern medicine on population?

  8. Re:You've never had fruit flies? by RandomSkratch · · Score: 2

    No kidding, the suckers are annoying enough!

    What's next? Biologists create extra hard exoskeleton on mosquito? Biologists attach wings to brown recluse?

  9. Re:festina lente! by NotDrWho · · Score: 2

    I'm just glad that science finally found a way to help one of nature's most annoying pests live 30% longer. Now if only they can prolong Justin Bieber's career, I'll be happy.

    --
    SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
  10. Re:can we give that to 16yo girls? by Anne+Thwacks · · Score: 2

    I assume you have never had a 16yo girlfriend. Seriously, they are Very Bad News (tm). Even if you are 16. Probably even more so!

    --
    Sent from my ASR33 using ASCII
  11. Listen, can you hear the noise from my kitchen? by MindPrison · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's the sound of the fruit flies that reside in my kitchen cheering like mad, they apparently read Slashdot too.

    They're getting intelligent too, the other day - one of them discovered that beer/vinegar + dish-washing liquid is dangerous, so only ONE of the little buggers died - the rest steer towards my beer bottles the SECOND I open it, I swear to you - these bastards have developed some sort of high end technology for seeking my beer, chocolate or any fruit I have laying around. Their targeting systems should be adopted by the military, they're more goal oriented than a group of old people at the mall fighting over the last piece of meat.

    I'm going down to the kitchen right now to whack a few of the fat bastards.

    --
    What this world is coming to - is for you and me to decide.
  12. Great... by fullback · · Score: 2, Insightful

    More old geezers like me hanging on for another 20 years, waiting to die, who can't pee, filling up the pockets of corporations that own nursing homes, as I endure a miserable existence, forgetting who I am and why I'm wandering around in my pajamas with no money.

  13. Re:Great... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Slowing the aging process doesn't add 20 years of the worst health at the end of the life but would extend each portion of the process.

    IE, if the aging process was truly slowed 30% you'd get 30% longer years at 30, 40, 50 or whatever, not 20-25 years extra in the shape you'd be at 90.