Organisms that glow - Bioluminescence

These are Cypridina hilgendorfii. They belong to a class of organisms called ostracods - a type of crustacean. Too tiny to make a meal of, humans have nonetheless found a use for them. When you piss them off, they secrete a substance that glows a beautiful blue color. This species is native to Japan, and is locally called umi-hotaru, or sea firefly. They were used in WWII by Japanese soldiers to provide light to read maps and messages.

C. hilgendorfii in action. The jar is from the 1940s and yet the chemicals remain active.

Although there are tons of sea creatures that can produce their own light, many other types of organism have similar abilities. Certain insects and fungi can also give off different colors of light. The biochemical pathways for fireflies, fungi, ostracods, etc. are not all similar, suggesting that bioluminescence has evolved multiple times independently.

 

Aging is a disease, and this man wants to cure it.

No, this is not Rasputin.

Some of you might know this gentleman: Aubrey de Grey. He's an Englishman who has taken up the quest to annihilate age-related diseases. Don't let him catch you calling it immortality - a claim that many journalists love to bandy about when referring to de Grey. Immortality is the necessary endpoint of his quest, but increased health into old age is the real subject. He aims to rally biologists, gerontologists, and geneticists to tackle aging on a cellular level. To that end, the Methuselah foundation (named after the biblical character) has created a contest to substantially increase the lifespan of mice.

Recently de Grey's group has put up a new contest - one that will reward the first research group to develop a fully transplantable human organ, grown from the ground up. The idea? If an organ is failing, simply swap it out for a fresh one.

There's a great wired interview available here for those of you who are interested.

Who wants to live forever?

New research shows that increased intake of branched-chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, valine) can raise the median lifespan of mice by 12%. Take care to note that the MAXIMUM age at death was not raised, but the average age at death.
It is thought they act by increasing productivity of mitochondria and staving off the ravages of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are implicated in DNA damage and disruption of cellular function.

After a little searching I found that BCAA supplements have been available for bodybuilding for some time, and although it isn't the fountain of youth, it may be beneficial.