Tag Archives: aging

March 05

The Biochemist's Stone: NAD+

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NAD+ (pronounced “N-A-D Plus”) is one of the most fundamental, crucial molecules in metabolism throughout all life on Earth. Life without NAD+ is hard to imagine: it holds irreplaceable roles in nearly every cellular process, from handling oxidative stress, DNA repair, and protein folding through to the generation of cellular energy (ATP). How does one […]

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February 06

What’s my (brain) age again?

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What does it mean to age? Is it a purely time-based process, with each passing moment bringing our bodies along an invariant trajectory of decline? Or is it a function of our behavior, dependent on our daily activities and the damage inflicted upon ourselves over time? Clearly, there is a bit of truth in each […]

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April 01

The plastic brain

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[En español] We are born with roughly 100 billion neurons, more neurons than we’ll ever have again. It’s still a ton of neurons; they could wrap around the earth 3-4 times. Plus, each of these 100 billion neurons has a couple hundred to thousand connections with other neurons. But as we age, our brains also change. Regions of the brain key for memory […]

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June 25

Aging: Telomeres and Meatballs

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What causes the slowly encroaching physical signs that we are past our prime? Scientists often gain understanding about a particular physiological process by studying cases in which that process goes awry. Can the aging process go haywire?

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October 31

Young Blood

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The modus operandi of a vampire is pretty straightforward: drink blood, live forever. Vampires consume more blood and live longer than everyone else, so surely, these two things are related. But how exactly does blood allow vampires to live forever? In an effort to find the root cause of immortality in vampirism (okay, kidding, they’re […]

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October 28

Let’s Talk About LGBTQ Visibility in Science, Baby

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In both social and scientific spheres, Dr. Ben Barres has consistently been an advocate for the little guy. He is openly transgender, and has encouraged open discussion on topics such as the marginalization of women in science. In addition, his research focuses on glia, which could also be considered as the marginalized cells within neuroscience […]

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