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Ageing accelerates around age 50 ― some organs faster than others

nature.com

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Re: Ageing accelerates around age 50 ― some organs faster than others

#51

Post by rootingforroots »

Qem wrote: post #32
piombisallow wrote: post #8

It's very likely that aging is driven by some kind of scheduled gene program. It makes perfect sense to phase out individuals from a group-level selection point of view.

Perhaps not a phase-out program, but a progressive shut-down program, as a trade off between peak performance and total lifespan, where the characteristic patterns of ageing is what allowed humans to live much longer than other animals around the same size. Similar to the idea in this comic: https://www.badspacecomics.com/post/the-suit By this logic, as a hedge against sudden death around ~50, the human body start cr…

Left me shivering.

Re: Ageing accelerates around age 50 ― some organs faster than others

#52

Post by notahacker »

munchler wrote: post #18
piombisallow wrote: post #8

It's very likely that aging is driven by some kind of scheduled gene program. It makes perfect sense to phase out individuals from a group-level selection point of view.

Is there convincing evidence for group-level selection in evolution at all? I read enough Dawkins back in the day to be skeptical of such claims.

Depends what you mean by "group-level". A large part of Dawkins was pointing out that many of your individual genes had a very large stake in wanting your nieces and nephews to survive, as there was a high probability those genes were also present in the niece and nephew.

Which is actually a pretty good reason for something like menopause to get programmed in. A proto-human capable of getting pregnant into her 60s would produce more offspring, but if accumulated damage meant they (and she) rarely survived the pregnancy, that could be less beneficial to the family group (including numerous relatives other than direct descendants) on average than having her switch the capability off and live another generation (but not many more generations, because then there's a lot of infertile people competing for food, and your tribe only needs so much accumulated wisdom)

Re: Ageing accelerates around age 50 ― some organs faster than others

#53

Post by _DeadFred_ »

SoftTalker wrote: post #16
wonderwonder wrote: post #12

I felt incredibly old from ~36 - 42. Then I started seriously working out, took control of my diet (it had very much always controlled me) and started aggressively pursuing a "better living through chemistry" approach to life. I feel 25 years younger now. My BP and cholesterol are under control and I roll out of bed actually feeling rested (probably due to not snoring anymore).

I started weight training at about age 54. I had never done any form of regular exercise in my life. Attempts here and there, but nothing ever stuck for very long. I am stronger now than I ever have been.

If you don't already make sure to include optimizing for twitch/fast muscle development. I've noticed it's the hardest loss to overcome for me in my 50s.

Re: Ageing accelerates around age 50 ― some organs faster than others

#54

Post by pinkmuffinere »

Qem wrote: post #32
piombisallow wrote: post #8

It's very likely that aging is driven by some kind of scheduled gene program. It makes perfect sense to phase out individuals from a group-level selection point of view.

Perhaps not a phase-out program, but a progressive shut-down program, as a trade off between peak performance and total lifespan, where the characteristic patterns of ageing is what allowed humans to live much longer than other animals around the same size. Similar to the idea in this comic: https://www.badspacecomics.com/post/the-suit By this logic, as a hedge against sudden death around ~50, the human body start cr…

I think this argument only makes sense on the surface level. If it was the case that humans hit some hard limit to growth (perhaps running out of 'room' to grow, or losing the ability to process new energy, etc), then I think it could make sense to do this sort of 'graceful decommissioning' behavior, which we'd come to know as aging. But is there a hard limit we hit, aside from the aging process itself? None is obvious to me.

What limitation is our body pushing off by 'choosing' to age, instead of continuing as normal?

Edit: Regardless of the validity of the argument, I loved that comic, thanks for sharing.

Re: Ageing accelerates around age 50 ― some organs faster than others

#55

Post by _DeadFred_ »

embwbam wrote: post #21
SoftTalker wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I started weight training at about age 54. I had never done any form of regular exercise in my life. Attempts here and there, but nothing ever stuck for very long. I am stronger now than I ever have been.

I’ve been athletic most of my life. At 42 I feel much older than at 32. Chronic injuries add up! Be careful out there everybody

The loss of twitch/fast muscle makes it feel much different for me. Even if I work out and have strength, it's not to same kind of strength I had at 30 even if it's the same/higher weight amounts.

Re: Ageing accelerates around age 50 ― some organs faster than others

#56

Post by pinkmuffinere »

mellosouls wrote: post #49

I've only opened these comments in the hope somebody here will debunk these findings or at least point out they are dubious... :(

I'm 30, so maybe still too young to have a meaningful perspective, but I take comfort in the fact that I will always get to choose what I _try_ to do. I can't control my body's state, but I can insist on doing exciting / eventful stuff until my body gives in. My friend's grandma (80+ yo) just flew from Bay Area to Paris on her own, to catch up with old friends. I'm pretty sure her doctors would advise her not to do that trip, but she is doing what she wants. I admire her for making the choice to assert her free will, despite the increased risk; I aspire to be like that.

Re: Ageing accelerates around age 50 ― some organs faster than others

#57

Post by petters »

piombisallow wrote: post #8

It's very likely that aging is driven by some kind of scheduled gene program. It makes perfect sense to phase out individuals from a group-level selection point of view.

I don't think it makes perfect sense. For one, group selection isn't widely accepted by evolutionists.

Re: Ageing accelerates around age 50 ― some organs faster than others

#58

Post by Mistletoe »

wonderwonder wrote: post #12

I felt incredibly old from ~36 - 42. Then I started seriously working out, took control of my diet (it had very much always controlled me) and started aggressively pursuing a "better living through chemistry" approach to life. I feel 25 years younger now. My BP and cholesterol are under control and I roll out of bed actually feeling rested (probably due to not snoring anymore).

Can you give more details about what you did?

Re: Ageing accelerates around age 50 ― some organs faster than others

#59

Post by 0xcafefood »

NoOn3 wrote: post #11
piombisallow wrote: post #8

It's very likely that aging is driven by some kind of scheduled gene program. It makes perfect sense to phase out individuals from a group-level selection point of view.

Maybe. But why in this case do we not see bugs and failures in this program, i.e. no one lived 5 times more than the average or did not live forever at all, for example? I'm not making a statement, just a guess.

If you want to see that idea explored in art, I highly recommend the movie "The Man From Earth."

Re: Ageing accelerates around age 50 ― some organs faster than others

#60

Post by evo_9 »

mellosouls wrote: post #49

I've only opened these comments in the hope somebody here will debunk these findings or at least point out they are dubious... :(

Agree - I’m 58 and still do the same workout I did in my 30s and 40s including 3 sets of 15 to 20 pull-ups depending on the day. I also still skate (hockey) 2 -3 times a week with a bunch of retired pros (echl, nhl, etc) and typically put up a bunch of points every skate (possibly slightly more assists now but I attribute that more toward enjoying that more these days and not needing to be so flashy)
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