Posts Tagged ‘aging’
November 29th, 2021 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
We are (or should be) familiar with adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy currency of life. But you need more than ATP to build a cell, you also need reducing power. To build molecules and cells, plants can start from carbon dioxide and water, because plants can do photosynthesis, i.e. they can make organic matter from the “the air” (plus minerals from the soil). We humans, start with simple organic molecules like glucose and have the enzymes to transform them into proteins, DNA, carbohydrates that we need (exception “essential” amino acids, essential fatty acids, vitamins) but we use a lot of energy in the form of ATP and what is called…
July 12th, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
That suntan that used to be fashionable (and still is in some circles) is a signal that the UV in the sunlight has damaged your DNA. Nothing to celebrate, right? Ultraviolet light is classified into three categories: UVA (315 to 400 nm), which causes tanning, UVB (medium wave, 280 to 315 nm), which causes sunburn, and UVC (short wave, germicidal, 100 to 280 nm), which is filtered out by the atmosphere and does not reach us. Incidentally, the ozone (O3) layer of the atmosphere absorbs 97–99% of the UV in the range 200 nm to 315 nm, which is why the destruction of the ozone layer by some chemicals is…
October 24th, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Warning: this is a “heavy” post that may feel to you like you are back in school and not in a good way (like for prom). You don’t have to read it but the objective is to convey to you the complexity of skin metabolism and molecular biology and why you should never look for a “magic” ingredient when it comes to skin youth and health. In short, life (LIFE) is complicated. Your skin is alive. Below the few layers of dead cells in the epidermis, perfectly designed for the tough job of protecting your body from pollution and damage, is the basal cell layer. Here is your stem cells…