Health Highlight: Natural Metabolite Might Reset Aging Biological Clocks

Polyamides linked to aging

As we age, our biological clocks tend to wind down. A Weizmann Institute research team has now revealed an intriguing new link between a group of metabolites whose levels drop as our cells age and the functioning of our circadian clocks – mechanisms encoded in our genes that keep time to cycles of day and night. Their results, which appeared in Cell Metabolism, suggest that the substance (called polyamides), which is found in many foods, could possibly help keep our internal timekeepers up to speed.

Source: Weizmann Institute of Science

Health Highlights is a recurring series of curated health and medical news from around the web.

Dying Matters: Talk, Plan, Live

During Dying Matters Awareness Week (May 18-24), the Public Health Agency (PHA) is urging everyone to take the opportunity to talk openly with those closest to them about dying, death and bereavement. This year’s theme is ‘Talk, Plan, Live’ (hashtag #YODO, which stands for You Only Die Once).

Talk, Plan, Live

Cocoa Flavanols Improve Speed of Memory Tasks in Older Adults

A new study finds that dietary cocoa flavanols — naturally occurring bioactive molecules in cocoa — can improve the speed of a memory task in healthy older adults.

Dietary cocoa flavanols

Study: Why Cancer Incidence May Increase with Age

The accumulation of age-associated changes in a biochemical process that helps control genes may be responsible for some of the increased risk of cancer seen in older people, according to a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study.

DNA methylation

Age Does Not Impair Decision-making, Provides Some Cognitive Benefits

Contrary to the widely held belief that cognitive function starts to decline in the mid-forties, a new study finds that aging does not correlate with a decrease in the ability to make logically consistent decisions. That’s the conclusion of Healthy Brain, Healthy Decisions: The MetLife Study of Decision-Making Potential [1].

Metlife healthy decisions