 The hallmarks of aging are not discrete problems. If we're going to stop or reverse human aging, then we're going to have to look at the deep-rooted causes of human aging and understand the complex interplay between them. We'll have this story and more in this episode of Lifespan News. Welcome to Lifespan News on X10, your source for longevity science updates. I'm your host, Brent Nally. If you missed our last episode, then you can watch it by clicking the card above. We encourage you to check the description below for links to these stories. Continuing with our first story, discussing the intertwined nature between NAD+, CD38, and senescence. Dr. Nicola Conlon recently wrote a detailed article on Lifespan.io's blog explaining that the hallmarks of aging, the suspected culprits that drive the age-related decline of our bodies, should not be looked at as discrete entities, but rather as interlinked phenomena that affect each other in complex ways. Consequently, Dr. Conlon rightfully argues that attacking a single hallmark is bound to have limited benefits, even if such hallmark was completely fixed. As an example of the convoluted interactions between different hallmarks, Dr. Conlon discussed the link between cellular senescence, chronic inflammation, and NAD+. While NAD+, is an indispensable molecule that has a wide variety of essential functions and benefits, it has been shown that high NAD+, levels in senescent cells makes them more inflammatory than they are to begin with. Yet as we age, NAD+, levels go down, while senescent cell levels and chronic inflammation go up. There's reason to think that this increase in inflammation could be a key driver of NAD+, which has harmful effects to the human body overall. So if you'd like to dive into Dr. Conlon's article in more detail, then check the link in the description below. For our next story, male and female gut microbiomes converge with age. The exact reason for this change is unknown, but is linked to physiological aging. The gut microbiomes of young men and women are distinct, but that difference disappears in older people, according to a new study. The researchers sequenced the microbiomes of about 2,300 adults in Beijing and correlated this data with 88 parameters measured through lab tests and questionnaires. The researchers found that it was possible to distinguish the gut microbiomes of men and women aged 26 to 50. But in individuals older than 50, the difference disappeared. The researchers were able to validate these findings in an independent cohort from China and another from the Netherlands, but not in an Israeli cohort. The research team tried to use their findings to establish a microbiome clock, an estimator of age based on microbiome data. But the researchers found that it performed well in some cohorts, but poorly in others. These findings add to the growing pool of data that links the gut microbiome in aging, although the nature of the links and the mechanisms behind them remain questions for future research. By the way, Lifespan News is released every Tuesday at noon Eastern time, while our other X10 science and advocacy videos are released every other Monday, also at noon Eastern time. We encourage you to subscribe to our X10 YouTube channel. Once you're subscribed, be sure to click the notification bell and select all notifications to ensure you don't miss any videos. Now, back to the news. Greg Gillespie on Lifespan.io has recently read and reviewed Gene Hebert's book, Replacing Aging. While there's many recent books on the topic of fixing aging, Dr. Hebert's book proposes a way to defeat aging that's possibly more controversial than any other, tissue replacement. Dr. Hebert maintains that the sheer complexity of aging is far beyond what the pharmaceutical approach can ever hope to address, and that the way forward is to replace aged tissues with lab grown ones. But this proposal isn't as radical as it might sound at first, given how regenerative medicine has progressed a lot over the last few decades and most challenges that prevent us from replacing tissues or engineering rather than biology challenges. However, you can't just go and replace your brain entirely, as that would defeat the very purpose of life extension. However, Dr. Hebert does propose tissue engineering approaches to rejuvenate the brain while preserving our sense of self. Greg isn't at all sold on the idea that the pharmaceutical approach is doomed to fail. But regardless, Greg did enjoy the book and thinks the book will prove useful to further popularize the topic of healthy life extension. Moving on, Lifespan.io has established an ethics code for longevity journalism. As Lifespan.io has become a significant source of news and information about longevity research, we've realized the need for a clear code of ethics to guide reporting in this field. Lifespan.io has published a first draft of such a code based on internal deliberations and discussions. We view this as an ever-evolving set of principles that will be updated and improved as new challenges arise. The ethics code centers around empowering the public, avoiding harm, maintaining transparency and independence, and recognizing personal involvement. We propose this code as a guide for all good faith actors and call upon both professional and citizen journalists covering aging research to conform to it. If you're a journalist and you'd like to contribute to improving the ethics code, then we invite you to share your thoughts with us in the comments below. For our final story, the United States National Institutes of Health opened calls for funding. The National Institute of Aging, or NIA, at the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, is inviting applicants for, quote, phase 1, 2A, and 2B clinical trials of new compounds or pre-purposed existing drugs, biologics, except stem cells. Or supplements to treat multiple chronic conditions by modulating fundamental aging-related mechanisms as well as to test compounds that could affect the individual diseases and conditions disproportionately affecting older adults, end quote. The aim is to support efficacy and safety trials for such drugs or treatments. The announcement says a letter of intent is due in March and the call will be open in May. The NIA intends to commit $4.5 million in total cost in fiscal year 2022 to fund four to six awards. As always, more information is available via the link in the description below. That's all the news for this video. Before you go, there's a few quick, free, and simple things that you can do to help us solve the human aging problem. If you haven't already, please make sure to like this video, share this video on your social media, make sure that you're subscribed with the bell turned to all notifications to ensure you don't miss any videos. Is there a recent life extension story that you think we should have included in one of our recent videos but haven't yet? And which of the stories from this video excited you the most? Let us know what you think in the comments below. We really appreciate it, and we look forward to seeing you in the next video, at least as healthy as you are now.