Answered questions
Cells & DNA
66 answered questions · 490 studies
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What do we know about PCC1 from grape seeds against ageing?
PCC1 shows in mouse studies that it can clear out aged and damaged cells. There are no studies in people yet.
What do biological ageing clocks actually measure?
Biological ageing clocks measure methylation patterns on your DNA and show that loss of cell identity resets the counter to…
Does yoga with meditation reduce DNA damage?
There are early positive indications that yoga with meditation reduces DNA damage, but the evidence is still too limited for…
Preliminary evidence
Does the protein GDF11 rejuvenate old cells?
GDF11 rejuvenates certain tissues in mice, particularly the heart, but whether this works in humans has not yet been…
Preliminary evidence
What do mitochondrial mutations mean for how quickly you age?
Mitochondrial mutations likely contribute to ageing, but exactly how large that contribution is, and through which mechanism,…
Can you repair DNA damage, or can you only prevent it?
Your body actively repairs DNA damage through multiple well-studied mechanisms, but that repair is not always perfect and…
Strong evidence
What exactly does senescence do to your cells as you age?
Senescent cells stop dividing and secrete inflammatory substances that damage tissues over time. They are necessary in youth,…
Can epigenetic reprogramming reverse ageing?
Epigenetic reprogramming consistently and convincingly rejuvenates cells and tissues in animal and laboratory studies, but no…
Preliminary evidence
Do senolytics already work in humans, or only in mice so far?
Senolytics no longer work only in mice: there is now first concrete evidence in humans, but the studies are small and lack…
Preliminary evidence
Does gene therapy with klotho or follistatin work against ageing?
Klotho gene therapy shows promise in mice and cells, but there are no human data yet. The available sources say nothing at all…
Preliminary evidence
Does sulforaphane from broccoli sprouts work against ageing?
Sulforaphane has impressive effects on ageing processes in lab and animal studies, but whether this also holds true in people…
Preliminary evidence
Does fasting help your cells clean themselves up?
Fasting demonstrably increases the self-cleaning function of your cells, but watch out for muscle breakdown during prolonged…
Yes · Moderate evidence
Does chronic inflammation accelerate the ageing of your cells?
Chronic inflammation demonstrably accelerates cellular ageing through a negative spiral that is difficult to break. The best…
Why do some cells stop dividing as you age?
Cells stop dividing because their chromosome tips wear down and they accumulate DNA damage: a protective mechanism that in…
What do zombie cells do to your ageing?
Zombie cells accumulate as you age and accelerate ageing through inflammatory signals; how to tackle them is promising but…
How reliable is an epigenetic age test?
An epigenetic age test provides a meaningful indication of biological ageing, but is not yet a definitive verdict on your…
Moderate evidence
What does a vitamin D deficiency do to your DNA?
A vitamin D deficiency is associated with greater DNA damage, especially in people with an additional risk factor. Make sure…
What is the relationship between cancer and senescent cells?
Senescent cells initially protect against cancer, but when they accumulate they can actually promote tumour growth through…
What are the hallmarks of aging, exactly?
Scientists now distinguish more than ten concrete biological hallmarks of aging, from DNA damage and telomere shortening to…
Why do cells lose their ability to repair themselves?
Cells lose their capacity for self-repair through a combination of declining energy supplies, impaired DNA repair and the…
What does caffeine do to your cells and their repair processes?
Caffeine inhibits important DNA repair processes while simultaneously having protective effects in certain cell types,…
Can eating too little actually damage your cells?
Short-term eating less triggers a protective cellular clean-up process. If the restriction becomes too extreme or is…
Yes · Moderate evidence
Why don't damaged cells always clean themselves up?
Cells have three ways of cleaning themselves up. When all three falter, damaged cells accumulate, and that is linked to ageing…
Does dehydration make your cells age faster?
There are biologically plausible indications that dehydration harms cells, but whether simply not drinking enough accelerates…
What is the difference between cell division and cellular ageing?
With each cell division, the tips of chromosomes wear down a little, until a cell permanently stops dividing. These halted…
Do your gut bacteria influence how fast your cells age?
Certain gut bacteria produce substances that accelerate cellular ageing, while a diverse microbiome rich in fibre-fermenting…
Can meditation do anything about ageing at the cellular level?
Meditation appears to activate an enzyme that protects chromosome caps from ageing, although the studies are still too small…
Yes · Preliminary evidence
How does air pollution damage your cells from the inside?
Air pollution damages your cells from the inside through oxidative stress: fine particulate matter causes an excess of harmful…
What is apoptosis and why is it a good thing that cells clean themselves up?
Orderly cell death is an essential clean-up mechanism that keeps your body healthy, but balance is everything: too little…
Why do damaged proteins build up inside your cells?
Cells have two clean-up systems for damaged proteins: the proteasome and autophagy. Both become less effective with age, and…
What does alcohol do to your cells and DNA in the long run?
Chronic alcohol use damages your DNA, disrupts how genes are read and increases the risk of several types of cancer. Drinking…
Can you protect your DNA from damage through diet?
Diet can both protect and damage your DNA, but the protective effects of supplements often fall short in practice. Make sure…
Moderate evidence
What is the role of inflammation in cellular ageing?
Inflammation and cellular senescence reinforce each other in two vicious cycles, leading to tissue damage and age-related…
Does resveratrol really help protect cells against ageing?
Resveratrol protects cells impressively in the lab, but whether that holds true in your body is uncertain: the body breaks the…
Preliminary evidence
What are senescent cells and why are they bad for you?
Senescent cells are damaged cells that stop dividing but continue to live and chronically inflame their surroundings. They…
What does chronic stress do to your DNA?
Chronic stress accelerates the wear on your DNA protectors (telomeres) in a way that corresponds to years of extra cellular…
Why are cells damaged when you don't get enough oxygen?
Oxygen deprivation damages cells through a chain of mechanisms: energy deficit, overstimulation of nerve cells, and an assault…
What is glycation and how does sugar damage your cells from the inside?
Sugar damages your cells through a chain of chemical reactions that harm proteins, cell powerhouses and tiny blood vessels.…
Can fasting really rejuvenate your cells?
Animal studies show convincing signs of cellular rejuvenation through fasting, and the first studies in people point in the…
Moderate evidence
What is the Horvath clock and why is it so well known?
The Horvath clock was the first biological age measure that worked broadly across virtually all tissues, and that is what…
Can smoking permanently damage your DNA?
Smoking damages your DNA in multiple ways simultaneously, and some of that damage is permanent; quitting genuinely helps, but…
What are free radicals and what do they do to your cells?
Free radicals arise naturally when your cells produce energy and, in small amounts, do useful work. Only when they overwhelm…
How does a cell know when to stop dividing?
A cell has multiple systems that work together to stop division: molecular brakes from within, signals from neighbouring cells…
Can DNA damage in your cells repair itself?
Your cells repair DNA damage continuously and systematically, but the system is not infallible: chronic overload or a defect…
What does autophagy do for ageing and disease?
Autophagy is a genuine part of the ageing process and plays a role in many age-related diseases, but the translation into…
Can you measure autophagy in your body?
Autophagy can be measured, but only in a laboratory using cells or tissue material. No reliable test is available for use at…
Does exercise activate autophagy?
Exercise activates autophagy in muscle cells through well-described mechanisms, but most of the evidence comes from animal and…
Yes · Moderate evidence
How do telomeres protect your DNA?
Telomeres protect your chromosome ends through a system of proteins that simultaneously prevents false alarms and harmful…
What does telomerase do to the length of your telomeres?
Telomerase keeps telomeres intact for longer by compensating for shortening during cell division, but in most body cells the…
Can you lengthen or restore your telomeres?
Healthy adult body cells cannot lengthen their own telomeres, and no proven safe way to do so from the outside yet exists. Be…
No · Moderate evidence
Why do your telomeres get shorter as you age?
Telomeres shorten because the copying process during cell division cannot fully reproduce the ends of chromosomes, and the…
What is hormesis (what doesn't kill you makes you stronger)?
Hormesis is a well-described biological principle: a low dose of stress can make your cells more resilient, provided the dose…
Do sirtuins actually do anything against ageing?
Sirtuins play a clear role in ageing in animal research, but whether they are of any benefit to humans (through supplements or…
Preliminary evidence
What does insulin do to the ageing process?
Chronically too much insulin is probably bad for healthy ageing, but science does not yet know precisely what the ideal…
Does fisetin from strawberries really work as a zombie-cell clearer?
Fisetin demonstrably clears zombie cells in cell experiments and in animals, but whether this also works in people and is safe…
Preliminary evidence
Can you have your telomeres measured, and is there any value in doing so?
A telomere test is technically possible but currently provides little actionable information for you as an individual, because…
Yes · Moderate evidence
Do I inherit my life expectancy from my parents?
Genetics explains roughly one third of how long you live, so your parents give you a biological starting point, not a…
Can you counteract DNA damage from ageing through your lifestyle?
Quitting smoking, exercising regularly and eating plenty of vegetables demonstrably reduce DNA damage; antioxidant supplements…
Yes · Moderate evidence
Does clearing out senescent cells with senolytics help against ageing?
Senolytics show impressive results in animal studies, but in people the evidence is too thin for use outside a research…
Preliminary evidence
What is NAD+ and what does it do in your body?
NAD+ is an indispensable molecule for energy, DNA repair and cell maintenance, and its levels measurably decline with age.…
Do my stem cells run out as I get older?
Your stem cells do indeed decline with age: they repair tissue less effectively and become partly exhausted. Regular exercise,…
What is epigenetics, and can you influence your own genes?
Epigenetics determines which genes are active and is, in principle, open to influence. In medicine, epigenetic mechanisms are…
Strong evidence
What is oxidative stress and how serious is it really?
Oxidative stress is a real biological process that causes damage to cells and contributes to ageing, but how large a role it…
What are "zombie cells" and how do you get rid of them?
Zombie cells clearly play a role in ageing, but no proven treatment yet exists for humans. Keep an eye on the field, but for…
Strong evidence
What is autophagy and can I activate it myself?
You can promote autophagy yourself through fasting or temporarily eating significantly less, and probably through exercise as…
Strong evidence
Can you read your disease risks from your DNA?
Your DNA and certain proteins in your blood give a useful picture of your predisposition to heart disease and other common…
Yes · Strong evidence