Professor Doctor Andreas Beyer, Ph.D., at the University of Cologne, Institute for Genetics in Germany, along with his research team has discovered that as we age, a critical process in our cells, called gene transcription, speeds up. This process involves making a copy of a specific DNA strand into the form of RNA. When the process occurs too fast, more errors are made. The RNA is then used for a number of things, including making the backbone of proteins. Posttranslational modifications then finish the making of proteins. If the protein’s backbone is error ridden, the protein loses function. Likewise, posttranslational modification (PTM) depends on other proteins, and if they are error ridden, then error ridden PTM will also lead to dysfunctional proteins.
What does this mean for our health? Dr. Beyer says, for example, “Our study is saying that, for instance, having a healthy diet or, this caloric restriction intervention, would improve the quality of the transcription of the RNA production in the cell. And this would then have beneficial effects for the cells in the long run.” The evidence for his statement; mice and worms following a low-calorie diet were assessed to gauge the impact on cell transcription during the aging process. In both scenarios, transcription’s pace was observed to be more measured, resulting in fewer errors.
To validate their experiment’s applicability to humans, they conducted assessments using blood samples from both young and elderly humans. Prof. Dr. Argyris Papantonis, Ph.D., at the University of Gottingen in Germany, one of the principal investigators, remarked, “And when we compared the young cells to the very old cells, in vitro, we got exactly the same results.”
As I have written, proteins being affected by our exposome is the largest factor in diseases, including cancer. Eat well and ignore David Sinclair.
Stem Cells, Health, Technology 