inkbluesky

fall greens and browns. its still very much indian summer throughout most of the south, but some of the trees are shedding seeds.

I was just looking at my mitochontria earlier today and I thought I saw something peculiar, A Fountain of Youth in Mitochondria?

Cranking up an enzyme in a cell’s powerhouse–the mitochondria–makes the cell resilient to stress and death, according to a study published today in the journal Cell. The findings could provide a new set of targets for drugs to treat the diseases related to aging, including Alzheimer’s and diabetes. Scientists say that the research might also point to the long-sought source of caloric restriction’s life-extending benefits.

[ ]… Mitochondria are tiny energy factories within each cell that convert chemical fuel into energy. A growing body of evidence suggests that mitochondrial function plays a vital role in aging and age-related ailments, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. For example, mitochondria in older people are less efficient than those in younger people–a change that may underlie insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes.

In the study, Sinclair and his collaborators genetically engineered cells to express higher levels of a mitochondrial enzyme called NAMPT, and then subjected those cells to toxic chemicals. They found that cells with higher enzyme levels were better protected against these chemicals and more resistant to cell death.

I can imagine the infomercial now - What They Don’t Want You to Know About Your Mitochondria? Who is they I always wonder in the actual commercial about vitamins and health. Is there actually a group of people who are conspiring to keep valuable nutrition information from the general public. A nationwide plot to deceive people into not eating their greens or taking vitamin C.

I just recently got around to watching Shopgirl (2005). The movie is very good, but even Steve Martin in the DVD extras says that had originally sought other actors for his role including Tom Hanks. Martin is a good actor, but I couldn’t help but think he was a little too old for that part. The photo which I’m using under fair use (small, low resolution, non-commercial, etc) is a photo of Steve by Andrew Ecceles who has done some memorable staged photos of celebrities.