Latest news with #TargetofRapamycin
Gulf Insider
38 minutes ago
- Health
- Gulf Insider
Scientists Reveal Your Morning Coffee Flips An Ancient Longevity Switch
Caffeine appears to do more than perk you up—it activates AMPK, a key cellular fuel sensor that helps cells cope with stress and energy shortages. This could explain why coffee is linked to better health and longer life. A new study from the Cellular Ageing and Senescence laboratory at Queen Mary University of London's Cenfre for Molecular Cell Biology, reveals how caffeine — the world's most popular neuroactive compound — might do more than just wake you up. The study in the journal Microbial Cell shows how caffeine could play a role in slowing down the ageing process at a cellular level. Caffeine has long been linked to potential health benefits, including reduced risk of age-related diseases. But how it works inside our cells, and what exactly are its connections with nutrient and stress responsive gene and protein networks has remained a mystery — until now. In new research published by scientists studying fission yeast — a single-celled organism surprisingly similar to human cells — researchers found that caffeine affects ageing by tapping into an ancient cellular energy system. A few years ago, the same research team found that caffeine helps cells live longer by acting on a growth regulator called TOR (Target of Rapamycin). TOR is a biological switch that tells cells when to grow, based on how much food and energy is available. This switch has been controlling energy and stress responses in living things for over 500 million years. But in their latest study, the scientists made a surprising discovery: caffeine doesn't act on this growth switch directly. Instead, it works by activating another important system called AMPK, a cellular fuel gauge that is evolutionarily conserved in yeast and humans. 'When your cells are low on energy, AMPK kicks in to help them cope,' explains Dr Charalampos (Babis) Rallis, Reader in Genetics, Genomics and Fundamental Cell Biology at Queen Mary University of London, the study's senior author. 'And our results show that caffeine helps flip that switch.' Interestingly, AMPK is also the target of metformin, a common diabetes drug that's being studied for its potential to extend human lifespan together with rapamycin. Using their yeast model, the researchers showed that caffeine's effect on AMPK influences how cells grow, repair their DNA, and respond to stress — all of which are tied to ageing and disease. 'These findings help explain why caffeine might be beneficial for health and longevity,' said Dr John-Patrick Alao the postdoctoral research scientist leading this study. 'And they open up exciting possibilities for future research into how we might trigger these effects more directly — with diet, lifestyle, or new medicines.' So, the next time you reach for your coffee, you might be doing more than just boosting your focus — you could also be giving your cells a helping hand.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Research shows caffeine could help slow cellular aging
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, BGR may receive an affiliate commission. Health experts tend to go back and forth on whether or not caffeine is actually good for you, or how much you should ingest every day. No matter which side you land on, there's no arguing that a cup of caffeine (in the form of coffee or any other liquid) has become a big part of many of our lives. And now, researchers say that caffeine could actually help with cellular aging. According to a new paper published in Microbial Cell, caffeine may actually slow cellular aging by activating a primary energy-sensing pathway in your body called AMPK. The researchers involved in the new findings used fission yeast in lieu of human cells. When exposed to caffeine, they found that the AMPK activity in the yeast increased, allowing cells to better manage stress, repair their DNA, and even regulate their growth. Today's Top Deals Best deals: Tech, laptops, TVs, and more sales Best Ring Video Doorbell deals Memorial Day security camera deals: Reolink's unbeatable sale has prices from $29.98 This research follows closely on the heels of additional dives into whether or not coffee is good for you. As one of our primary sources of daily caffeine, the benefits of coffee have long been debated among the health community. This new development is deeper, though, as it looks at caffeine as a whole. Considering how much scientists have worked to try to get age-reversing medication, finding something that can help slow cellular aging could be a dream come true for some scientists. The key to how caffeine helps with cellular aging comes down to the switch that it interacts with. However, instead of interacting directly with the trigger, a growth regulator called TOR (Target of Rapamycin), caffeine only interacts with AMPK, which helps cells cope with lower energy. The effect that caffeine has on AMPK seems to influence how cells grow, as well as how they repair their DNA. Each of the attributes that caffeine has an effect on is tied to both aging and disease, which is why caffeine has long been heralded as being beneficial for health and longevity, at least in controlled amounts. Future research that digs deeper into this connection could help us understand the role caffeine plays in cellular aging even more. More Top Deals Amazon gift card deals, offers & coupons 2025: Get $2,000+ free See the
