Aging & evolutionary biology
Josh Mitteldorf is best known for promoting the theory that aging is not “wearing out” but rather an evolved program that limits lifespan. The surprising fact that our bodies are genetically programmed to age and to die offers an enormous opportunity for medical intervention. He began blogging about aging on this site in 2012. His guidance for a long life is at AgingAdvice.org. His two books on aging are available at Amazon and elsewhere.
Mitteldorf’s PhD is in astrophysics. Since about 2020, he has taken up a new challenge as curator and critic of science on the fringe, writing about promising science that the science establishment has unjustly neglected.
In other areas of life, Mitteldorf’s two daughters were among the first girls to be adopted from China in the 1980s. He has taught a weekly yoga class for fifty years. He is an avid amateur musician, playing piano in chamber groups, French horn in community orchestras. Follow his other writing at mitteldorf.substack.com, and listen to his poetry on YouTube.
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One of the major themes in aging science of the last 15 years has been that there is natural variation in telomere length, and individuals with longer telomeres have lower disease risk and longer life expectancy than those with shorter telomeres.
Dec 11, 2016
I have just returned from three months in Beijing as a visiting scholar at the National Institute for Biological Sciences.
Nov 21, 2016
The dominant theory of aging today was conceived at a time when genes were thought to be biological destiny.
Nov 6, 2016
Thanks to some of my readers who noticed that AgingAdvice.org had disappeared. It is now back online.
Oct 20, 2016
Cold Spring Harbor labs on Long Island has a diverse offering of conferences that attract experts from all areas of biology.
Oct 20, 2016
C. elegans worms live up to 3 weeks, and for the last 2½ weeks, they are post-reproductive, unable to lay fertile eggs because they have run out of sperm to fertilize them.
Oct 12, 2016
The advantage of a low-carb diet is that it minimizes insulin spikes that can contribute to loss of insulin sensitivity=metabolic syndrome.
Oct 5, 2016
Next week, part 3: Specifics on the high-fat, ketogenic diet
Sep 15, 2016
Next week: Metabolic Syndrome, Glycemic Load and The ketogenic Diet
Sep 5, 2016
…directly. But in practice, the pain of arthritis limits activity and discourages exercise.
Aug 15, 2016
When we think about things we can do to have longer, healthier lives, it’s the metabolism that comes to mind—diet, exercise, supplements.
Jul 20, 2016
Starve yourself. Exercise until it hurts. Buy expensive supplements and stay away from the foods you love most.
Jul 11, 2016
