Summary
The podcast episode features Dr. Gordon Lithgow, a biologist at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, who discusses his work in screening compounds that could increase lifespan in model organism C. elegans. Dr. Lithgow highlights how proteins lose their three-dimensional shape and become insoluble or aggregated with age, and this is a major mechanism of aging that disrupts normal tissue function affecting mitochondrial function. Hormetic response, via heat, fasting, and curcumin, can help deal with stress better and clear away damaged proteins and cells. Dr. Lithgow details the importance of understanding minerals and their impact on health and the risks of blindly taking supplements without getting iron levels measured. The podcast concludes with Dr. Lithgow's discovery of vitamin D's profound effect on protein insolubility, and the potential of vitamin D supplements in improving age-related neurological diseases.
The conversation between Dr. Rhonda Patrick and Dr. Lithgow explains a program that tests compounds that have the potential to extend the lifespan of different genetic backgrounds of C. elegans. The program has successfully identified compounds such as Thioflavin T and alpha-Ketoglutarate that work well in preventing the aggregation of proteins in C. elegans. Dr. Lithgow emphasizes that understanding the mechanism of aging in C. elegans can pave the way for human research, and calls for suggestions from researchers for compounds that can be tested in the program.
