Taurine deficiency as a driver of aging • Hacker News Board

Re: Taurine deficiency as a driver of aging

#91

Post by K0balt » Thu, Jun 08, 2023, 9:28 PM UTC

seydor wrote: post #84

pfannkuchen wrote: post #82

Obviously the real driver of aging is that there was no selective pressure to keep the organism working after sufficient semi-clones were brought online, and keeping an organism functional is a hard problem. The solution is to gain the ability to simulate the organism that results from a particular DNA sequence, understand the design problems in the organism, fix the problems, then alter human DNA to include the fixe…

But if the organism lived longer it would keep pumping semiclones. And if organisms are basically huge self-sustaining feedback loops, why won't they keep sustaining ... forever until some pressure forces them to decay

Sexual reproduction, which increases fitness? So theoretically the offspring are more fit clone producers so competing with them is bad, M’kay?

Re: Taurine deficiency as a driver of aging

#92

Post by twiceaday » Thu, Jun 08, 2023, 9:30 PM UTC

seydor wrote: post #84

pfannkuchen wrote: post #82

Obviously the real driver of aging is that there was no selective pressure to keep the organism working after sufficient semi-clones were brought online, and keeping an organism functional is a hard problem. The solution is to gain the ability to simulate the organism that results from a particular DNA sequence, understand the design problems in the organism, fix the problems, then alter human DNA to include the fixe…

But if the organism lived longer it would keep pumping semiclones. And if organisms are basically huge self-sustaining feedback loops, why won't they keep sustaining ... forever until some pressure forces them to decay

You can search the space of evolutionarily adjacent entities faster by semicloning once and letting the fittest of those semiclone further, compounding the mutations. Such a strategy will likely out-compete a slower searching one into extinction.

Re: Taurine deficiency as a driver of aging

#93

Post by cjohnson318 » Thu, Jun 08, 2023, 9:30 PM UTC

I'm confused. Taurine is found in meat, fish, and apparently, RedBull. But I thought there was a negative correlation between health/aging and eating lots of meat and RedBull. Is there a secret source of taurine that I'm missing? If I double up on fish, can I expect to live longer, assuming I don't accidentally increase my mercury levels?

Re: Taurine deficiency as a driver of aging

#94

Post by heisenbit » Thu, Jun 08, 2023, 9:31 PM UTC

Fauntleroy wrote: post #20

Blackthorn wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know I won't change anyone's already set opinions here, but for anyone reading this and not sure what is being discussed: there's absolutely nothing wrong with consuming sucralose.

I have extremely strong anecdotal evidence that sucralose is toxic to my gut fauna. Two years of suffering are enough to convince me, but I'm hopeful to see the research that confirms it sooner than later.

This is actually a good point: The fact that it does not get metabolized by the body does not mean it does not get metabolized by some valuable bacterial symbionts.

Re: Taurine deficiency as a driver of aging

#95

Post by hooo » Thu, Jun 08, 2023, 9:34 PM UTC

codeflo wrote: post #69

A_D_E_P_T wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The basic formula from mouse to human is (X mg * (3/37)) = human equivalent dose in mg/kg. In this case (1000mg * 3/37)) comes out to 81mg/kg. So, if you weigh 80kg, it comes out to 6.48 grams per day. That's a lot of taurine, but not really a crazy amount. Easy enough to consume.

Is there a precise biological explanation for that factor, e.g. metabolism rate or something?

When my son had cancer, many of the medication dosages were based on body surface area. Maybe it is similar to that.

https://reference.medscape.com/calculator/692/body-surface-a...

Re: Taurine deficiency as a driver of aging

#96

Post by jstarfish » Thu, Jun 08, 2023, 9:40 PM UTC

cjohnson318 wrote: post #93

I'm confused. Taurine is found in meat, fish, and apparently, RedBull. But I thought there was a negative correlation between health/aging and eating lots of meat and RedBull. Is there a secret source of taurine that I'm missing? If I double up on fish, can I expect to live longer, assuming I don't accidentally increase my mercury levels?

Energy drinks aren't a good source-- there's lots of Taurine, sure, but the net effect of the drink acts as a diuretic. Chronic dehydration will subtract from life expectancy.

Re: Taurine deficiency as a driver of aging

#97

Post by xcv123 » Thu, Jun 08, 2023, 9:40 PM UTC

Blackthorn wrote: post #79

detrites wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Studied by whom for what goal? They're also some of the most astutely-avoided substances, with various products proudly proclaiming they don't contain them. Such markets could well potentially exist due to user experience trumping studies.

So I take it you're on the "okay, they're not" side of that divide? I mean, how many more decades does one need to really make a decision on these?

There are studies for and against artificial sweeteners. There are studies funded by industry. There is such a thing as corruption in science and corruption in regulatory agencies. The global artificial sweetener market size is $7 Billion.

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/this-common-sugar-sub...

Re: Taurine deficiency as a driver of aging

#98

Post by symlinkk » Thu, Jun 08, 2023, 9:44 PM UTC

WastingMyTime89 wrote: post #54

k__ wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, taking nicotine doesn't seem to be bad. Putting smoke in your lungs on the other hand...

Nicotine is quite bad for your blood pressure.

So is salt but it’s worth it

Re: Taurine deficiency as a driver of aging

#99

Post by canucker2016 » Thu, Jun 08, 2023, 9:46 PM UTC

cjohnson318 wrote: post #93

I'm confused. Taurine is found in meat, fish, and apparently, RedBull. But I thought there was a negative correlation between health/aging and eating lots of meat and RedBull. Is there a secret source of taurine that I'm missing? If I double up on fish, can I expect to live longer, assuming I don't accidentally increase my mercury levels?

the wikipedia entry for taurine states that the human body can synthesize taurine from cysteine as well.

the wikipedia entry also says dietary taurine intake is rather low, considering the doses the main article talks about, about 40-400mg/day taurine intake.

see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taurine

Re: Taurine deficiency as a driver of aging

#100

Post by jstarfish » Thu, Jun 08, 2023, 9:46 PM UTC

WastingMyTime89 wrote: post #81

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doubt the sugar alone is to blame and not the high caffeine content.

There is not that much caffeine in Red Bull surprisingly. It’s a lot compared to a soda but it pales if you compare it to coffee: it’s approximately half as much as what’s in an espresso. Caffeine-wise, drinking two cans should be fine (provided you don’t drink a ton of other caffeinated beverages). Honestly my first guess here is that we are in the presence of a confounding variable. I can somewhat imagine the life…

I don't think it's anything confounding; it's likely just age. Old people are really sensitive about drinking caffeinated coffee late in the day for reasons I never understood until my mid-30s, where suddenly I had to watch soda intake after 6pm or I'd get insomnia.

(Also, use phone/monitor night mode and don't do anything intense within 1hr of bed-- no gaming, no exercise, no forums, no outrage-inducing news, etc. Wind down with something boring.)