The world works in strange ways; as soon as I mention twice the paucity of AGE-breaker and AGE-inhibitor work, more research groups start to come to my attention. Before diving into the example below, you might want to first refresh your memory on the buildup of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) and their contribution to aging.

• Beneficial effects of C36, a novel breaker of advanced glycation endproducts cross-links, on the cardiovascular system of diabetic rats

Unfortunately, past evidence suggests that excitement over work in rodents should be muted at best - the history of ALT-711 or alagebrium demonstrates that different types of AGEs are important in shorter-lived mammals versus humans. So far, promising work in mice and rats has translated poorly into human therapies - in most cases, through trying to address the wrong AGEs.

You'll noticed that this group, as for a number of others, is focused on diabetes. This is very much the way of the world in medical research. Regulation - both directly by decree and indirectly through raising costs of development - forces researchers down the road of focusing upon specific common diseases. You can't raise significant funds through the normal channels for work aimed at addressing an aspect of aging itself so long as major regulatory bodies will not approve the end result of your work for use. So, for example, most AGE research aims at diabetes because diabetic metabolism generates - and suffers due to - AGEs at an accelerated rate, but more pertinently because funds can be raised.

So it is that a range of the most promising potential research into addressing aging, not just AGE-breakers, is happening by stealth, in groups whose officially declared purposes span the known diseases of aging. Progress towards the more interesting goal of repairing age-related damage in our bodies proceeds at a fraction of the pace it might, because there is little freedom in medical research and development these days. It's a tragedy; unless this state of affairs is overturned, it will ensure age-related suffering and death comes for us much sooner than would otherwise be possible.

When I wrote about Hugh Grant using an elastic band to achieve a facelift for his role in the movie Music and Lyrics, I got many inquiries into where such bands may be purchased.

If you want to look younger this Halloween, try Andrea Wrinkle Release and Instant Facelifts. The kit includes: 12 Pairs of Wrinkle Release Instant FaceLifts for Face & Neck and 18 Pairs of Wrinkle Release Instant Facelifts for Brows.

Apparently you can apply makeup directly over the tape. You'll just need to get crafty on where to strategically position the tape so no one can see it.

Then write in and let us know if you were able to collect candy alongside your kids! Happy Halloween!

Everything is connected to everything else: our biochemistry is a web of tightly interacting processes, systems and feedback loops. You can't consider any one process in isolation of the whole if you'd like to learn more about how we work. This level of interaction is one reason why it is likely easier to learn to repair damage to our metabolism - the damage that causes aging - than to significantly change our metabolic systems to generate damage more slowly, and thus age more slowly.

With that in mind, I thought I'd point out a selection of papers that illustrate some of the more obvious linkages between stem cells, cancer, DNA damage, telomeres and aging - all a big ball of intricately knotted string. As cells - especially stem cells - become damaged, multiple sentinal processes try to destroy or place them into a quiescent state in order to avoid the runaway replication and mutation of cancer. But removing cells from active service reduces the effectiveness of the body, and is one cause of aging. This is an evolutionary balance of multiple competing and co-operating processes, degeneration with age on the one hand and avoidance of cancer on the other.

DNA repair in stem cell maintenance and conversion to cancer stem cells:

Genomic stability is essential for cell and organism longevity. Without genomic stability, replication errors and external stress as well as direct forms of DNA damage can induce mutations, which decrease cell survival, cause altered gene expression, and can lead to cellular transformation. All represent the antithesis of maintenance of normal stem cell function. We argue here that genomic stability is essential for stem cell maintenance and longevity. This concept is supported by human diseases associated with premature aging and animal models of DNA damage repair abnormalities all of which lead to abnormalities of stem cell survival.

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Thus one origin of the cancer stem cell phenotype is the inability to maintain genomic stability among the stem cell population leading to mutational alterations and transformation. Capturing stem cells at this transition point represents an exciting field of discovery possibly leading to early detection and therapeutic interventions.

Two faces of p53: aging and tumor suppression:

The p53 tumor suppressor protein, often termed guardian of the genome, integrates diverse physiological signals in mammalian cells. In response to stress signals, perhaps the best studied of which is the response to DNA damage, p53 becomes functionally active and triggers either a transient cell cycle arrest, cell death (apoptosis) or permanent cell cycle arrest (cellular senescence). Both apoptosis and cellular senescence are potent tumor suppressor mechanisms that irreversibly prevent damaged cells from undergoing neoplastic transformation.

However, both processes can also deplete renewable tissues of proliferation-competent progenitor or stem cells. Such depletion, in turn, can compromise the structure and function of tissues, which is a hallmark of aging. Moreover, whereas apoptotic cells are by definition eliminated from tissues, senescent cells can persist, acquire altered functions, and thus alter tissue microenvironments in ways that can promote both cancer and aging phenotypes. Recent evidence suggests that increased p53 activity can, at least under some circumstances, promote organismal aging.

Telomeres, senescence, and hematopoietic stem cells:

The replicative lifespan of normal somatic cells is restricted by the erosion of telomeres, which are protective caps at the ends of linear chromosomes. The loss of telomeres induces antiproliferative signals that eventually lead to cellular senescence. The enzyme complex telomerase can maintain telomeres, but its expression is confined to highly proliferative cells such as stem cells and tumor cells.

The immense regenerative capacity of the hematopoietic system is provided by a distinct type of adult stem cell: hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Although blood cells have to be produced continuously throughout life, the HSC pool seems not to be spared by aging processes. Indeed, limited expression of telomerase is not sufficient to prevent telomere shortening in these cells, which is thought ultimately to limit their proliferative capacity.

You may have already seen this compelling video. There are others like it on youtube, of various people talking to their body (some are love letters, some letters of sincere apology). It got me to thinking how mean I am to my body, in both thought and deed. When I was kicking myself over not achieving enough or not exercising enough, my life coach stopped me and said, "You know, you'd never treat your pet or a friend like this. You would nurture and care for them if they are going through a hard time. You wouldn't dump more on them, you wouldn't abuse them."

She made a good point.

So let me think about what I'd say to my body, starting from the ground up.

Dear feet: I am sorry I stuff you into shoes that are too tight, too pointy, too perilous. Thank you for carrying around the rest of me, usually without complaint. There's no one I'd rather travel with than you.

Dear legs: Thank you for helping me beat that rabid woman to that couture blouse at that crazy sample sale and for helping me escape from a particularly creepy date. Thank you for steadying me when I am off kilter. I am sorry that I have covered up part of you, that I hate looking at those new spider veins on you.

Dear butt: Thank you for cushioning me for many years. Thank you for being soft when I am hard on myself.

Dear belly: I am sorry I am always trying to hide you when all you do is hold me together.

Dear breasts: I know, we've grown apart, but I'm working on repairing the relationship.

Dear hands: Thank you for allowing me to create through you. Thank you for being strong and capable, yet graceful and feminine.

Dear lips: I really hope you like the taste of Carmex and Viva Glam V Lipglass, seeing as I smother you in both every day. If you can't take it anymore, speak up.

Dear nose: Bless you for letting me enjoy the smells of lasagna, lavender, wet pine, and the skin of someone I love.

Dear eyes: Even with terrible eyesight, you manage to see all the colors of the world through your green eyes and thick glasses.

Dear skin: Thank you for protecting me from the elements, all the while staying soft and smooth. And thank you for keeping my age to yourself.

Dear hair: Thank you for waiting a long time to show the gray.

Dear body: Thank you for letting me stay a while. I'll do my best not to wreck the place.

What would you say to your body? We'd love to know.

When I drank Aquafina, I pictured that my bottle was previously held under a wildly pure waterfall and contained just for me. When the news broke over the summer that Aquafina water is actually tap water, I was shocked to say the least… shocked that my tastebuds had betrayed me into believing that Aquafina was the most pure tasting water I’d ever had.

Now the powers that be at Aquafina are making “advanced hydration premium skincare” products, no doubt  to save face. One of their products is dubbed the “Wrinkle Release and Sealer,” which they claim works after one hour of use. The first two ingredients listed on the bottle, and therefore the most prevalent in the concoction, are purified water and cetyl alcohol… hardly the dynamic duo you want to smooth onto your skin to decrease wrinkles. They’ve also thrown in some white tea and cucumber to even out the mix and appeal to those who favor natural ingredients.

But it's their patented QuSome delivery system that sounds the hokiest. They describe QuSomes by saying they “are like microscopic water balloons” that deliver nutrients into deep layers of the skin. They say the QuSome system in their products enables them to work “better, faster and longer.”

This seems like another instance of a company jumping on the lucrative skincare and anti-aging beauty bandwagon to cash in on the desires of many to retain their youth. The Pepsi-Cola company behind Aquafina should stick to sugary beverages because their skincare promises sound too sweet to believe.