Another Passion Post, But its Not Really on a Passion

So this is my second post where we have to write about a passion or something of the sort.  Unlike many of my more inspired peers I will not be dedicating this blog to a certain topic, mainly because I can't really think of one thing to just write about for however long we have to do this.

Yesterday I was looking at different articles on sciencenews.org and I found this one called Fasting Hormone Helps Mice Live Longer, so obviously I opened it.

The author, Tina Saey, writes about a hormone called fibroblast growth factor-21, FGF21, that somehow increases the life span of a mouse.  The average life span of a mouse is about 28 months but 1/3 of the female mice producing FGF21 lived 44 months.

When certain species, like fruit flies and dogs, cut down on calorie intake but still maintain good nutrition, life expectancy is extended.  The hormone FGF21 produces a similar result to caloric restriction by hindering the reactions of a insulin-like growth factor.  This also increases life expectancy.

The mice who were genetically engineered to produce the hormone tended to be leaner and have better health.  However, some of the mice had a low bone density and some females were infertile.

Saey writes that scientists still don't quite understand how FGF21 works.  All that they know for sure is that it is made in the liver and is produces similar results to that of caloric restriction, but the only place the two interact is in the hormone interference of the growth factor.

So for those of you who are still reading this, I think that this is pretty cool. I find that even realizing that it was FGF21 increasing the life span is impressive.  And I think that what the hormone does is even more impressive.  And when scientists figure out how the hormone works, I'll definitely be reading that article.

I'm not sure if I need to make some sort of citation for this article, but I will, just in case, because I don't want to get sued or something.  So:

Saey, Tina Hesman. "Fasting Hormone Helps Mice Live Longer." Science News.
     Society for Science & the Public, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2012.
     <http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/345907/description/
     Fasting_hormone_helps_mice_live_longer>.