Scientific Literature Summaries
Understanding Aging
What is normal aging?
The study of normal aging has helped change our understanding of what it means to grow older. Although people mostly age differently, scientists have identified common changes experienced by nearly everyone. In this article, the BLSA discusses the links between aging and disease, how age-related changes impact heart health, and measurements of cognition relating to Alzheimer’s disease. Answers to “What is normal aging?” led scientists to the question, “What is the relationship between aging and disease?”
Baltimore Longevity Study of Aging History
Hallmarks of Aging
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Recent advances in the understanding of aging science have identified 12 interconnected hallmarks of aging: genomic instability, telomere attrition, epigenetic alterations, loss of proteostasis, disabled macroautophagy, deregulated nutrient-sensing, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, stem cell exhaustion, altered intercellular communication, chronic inflammation, and dysbiosis. This review outlines a basis for development of potential interventions to address aging using these hallmarks.a
NAD+ Boosting
Therapeutic Potential of NAD Boosting Molecules
This review takes a deep dive into the role of NAD+ in energy metabolism and cellular health, including NAD-responsive signaling systems, NAD synthesis and degradation, and its physiological effects.
Cellular Senescence
The Metabolic Roots of Senescence
This review talks about the role of senescent cells and their biologically active secretory products in metabolic dysfunction. Mitochondrial dysfunction is one of the main causes of cellular senescence. Interventions which target senescent cells might mitigate the effects of senescent cells in aging.
Wiley CD and J Campisi. The metabolic roots of senescence: mechanisms and opportunities for intervention. Nature Metabolism 2021 Oct 18; 3:1290-1301.
Canine Publications
Canine Medicine and Genetics
This study confirms that large dogs have shorter lives than small dogs, on average and neutered and spayed dogs live longer than intact dogs. No difference in lifespan was seen between pure breed and mixed breed dogs but breeds which have less genetic diversity lived shorter lives than those breeds which did not. Mountain ancestral breeds tended to live shorter lives than other breeds, a finding independent of their larger size.
Urfer SR, M Kaeberlein, DEL Promislow, KE Creevy. Lifespan of Companion Dogs Seen in Three Primary Care Veterinary Clinics in the United States. Canine Medicine and Genetics. 2020 Jun 16; 7(7): 1-14 DOI:
