## Why some liver cells survive a chemical hit Loganin, a modest iridoid glycoside from Cornus fruit, helps liver cells endure chemical assault by flipping two
Mitophagy — the cell's recycling system for damaged mitochondria — slows with age, letting broken units pile up and leak bacterial-like mtDNA that triggers chronic inflammation. Four 2026 studies show restarting this pathway in rheumatoid arthritis and Alzheimer's models suppresses downstream inflammasome activation, while a fourth study reveals selective autophagy extends well beyond mitochondria.
Fifty years of antioxidant trials mostly failed because 85% of mitochondrial DNA damage comes from replication errors, not free radicals. From mitochondrial transplantation and MOTS-c peptide hormones to CoQ10's irreplaceable role in the electron transport chain, aging science is moving from 'slow the damage' to 'replace the parts.
Telomeres are usually cast as the cell's countdown timer that hits zero and you age. But two studies show they manage far more than time: shorten them, and immune cells' mitochondria misfire, inflammation ignites, and cognition takes a causally-linked hit. Telomeres, it turns out, move both inflammation and brainpower.
You took NMN for three months and still look the same in the mirror. Why? Three landmark studies piece together how NAD⁺ collapses with age: how cells fake hypoxia, who eats your supplements, and whether topping NAD⁺ back up can truly rejuvenate old cells.
We've heard plenty of mouse stories about NAD⁺ falling with age. Three studies finally move it onto real humans: a tube of blood, a brain scan, and a randomized double-blind trial each confirm NAD⁺ truly declines in us, while honestly flagging that the clinical payoff is still unsettled.