Fountain of Youth?

This post is dedicated to a good friend who has been my comrade in wellness-oriented life-choices.  Many months ago, he asked me to investigate a substance called TA-65 which is reported to actually lengthen telomeres.  Telomeres are at the ends of chromosomes, which are long strings of genes (DNA) that encode each cell's machinery.  A human is composed ~ 10 trillion cells!  Each time a cell divides, the telomeres become shorter.  There is a correlation between telomere length and healthy heart & immune system.  Some researchers even believe telomere manipulation will help cure cancer.

Astragalus membranaceus

The compound TA-65 and a related molecule TAT2 (Cycloastragenol) are isolated from the root of the Chinese herbal remedy Astragalus membranaceus which has been in use for over 2,000 years to increase metabolism, promote healing and enhance the immune system.

Looking at the molecular structures, I see a structural similarity to the endogenous hormone estrogen (Estradiol).  The difference between TA-65 (proprietary structure I found through SciFinder) and TAT2 (discovered on Wikipedia) seems to be glycoconjugation.  I have not had enough time to read up on the mechanism of action of these molecules, more reading for another day no doubt!

From SciFinder (TA-65) and Wikipedia (Cycloastragenol, Estradiol)

As far as the fountain of youth goes, I think the telomere shortening over time is part of life.  To partake of herbal remedies is fine, but to believe we can stop the clock on aging is a myth that has flourished since the 5th century BC.  Although it is great fodder for art (Eduard Vieth, a Viennese painter who worked around the turn of the 20th century AD) it is probably not a good thing to tamper with.

4SSSS

sac·ri·fice/ˈsakrəˌfīs/

Noun:	An act of slaughtering an animal or person or surrendering a possession as an offering to God or to a divine or supernatural figure.
Verb:	Offer or kill as a religious sacrifice.
Synonyms:	noun.  offering - oblation - victim - immolation - prey verb.  immolate - victimize - offer

suf·fer/ˈsəfər/

Verb:	Experience or be subjected to (something bad or unpleasant). Be affected by or subject to (an illness or ailment).
Synonyms:	endure - bear - undergo - tolerate - sustain - stand

As I was finishing up my dissertation, the two words that sprang to my mind were sacrifice and suffer.  I felt I had sacrificed so much of myself (physically and emotionally) as an offering to the Academic gods.  I felt I had bled, and that I had made many offerings.  But the definitions of this word pointed out to me that it was not an empowering term, that it painted me as some kind of prey or victim.  

Then I found suffer, which resonated a bit better.  Endurance is one of my specialties.  Now that I've made it "through the ringer" I feel as though my two new words for 2012 are sanity and satisfaction.

Also got a kick out of this vid also about pain and suffering.  Explains how cycling helped me finish my Ph.D.