Cell Death May Spur Longevity, Not the Other Way Around
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Yes, Kelly Clarkson. Or is it everything that kills me makes me feel alive? Rap Genius. But what if what didn't kill you actually kept you alive? And living longer? The reality is that it's not the antioxidants that allow us to age more slowly but the toxins. That's right, toxins. According to newswise.com, "M any people believe that free radicals, the sometimes-toxic molecules produced by our bodies as we process oxygen, are the culprit behind aging. Yet a number of studies in recent years have produced evidence that the opposite may be true." Now a research team has found that free radicals – also known as oxidants – act on a molecular mechanism that, in other circumstances, tells a cell to kill itself. McGill researchers found that this same mechanism -- which causes cells to die so they don't become cancerous or to kill off viruses that have invaded he cell -- when stimulated in the right way...