Optimal Being

A novel antibody therapy makes the immune system of old mice appear younger, allowing the animals to better fend off infections and reduce inflammation. Antibodies are proteins that can target and attack certain cells. An experimental therapy has been found to rejuvenate the immune systems of older mice, enhancing their capacity to combat infections. Should this treatment prove effective in humans, it could potentially reverse the age-related deterioration in immunity that renders older individuals more vulnerable to diseases. This decline in immunity might stem from alterations in our blood stem cells, which have the potential to evolve into any blood cell type, including vital elements of the immune system. With age, an increasing number of these stem cells are inclined to generate certain immune cells rather than others, according to Jason Ross from Stanford University in California. Such an imbalance compromises the immune system's infection-fighting abilities and contributes t...

Scientists are intrigued by a drug that appears to imbue mice with the benefits of exercise without actually getting physical activity — but as you'd imagine, there are caveats, so don't throw out your workout clothes just yet. As a  University of Florida press release  about the new research declares, the newly developed compound SLU-PP-332 led obese mice to lose weight by apparently convincing their bodies to go into marathon training mode, leading to a faster metabolism and more energy and endurance, and all without actually exercising. "This compound is basically telling skeletal muscle to make the same changes you see during endurance training," Thomas Burris, a UF pharmacy professor who led the research, said in the school's press release. SLU-PP-332 purports to achieve this by targeting what are known as EFF proteins that activate the body's most "energy-gobbling" tissues, such as the brain, the heart, and other muscles. ERRs are naturally rel...