The Science Keeps Getting Better. Do Your Part.

Dick Soller, 95, is not quite sure what he going to do with the almost new 40-year old recliner in the basement. Maybe he will sell it with the house one day. He likens it to a “piece of art”, something to look at, but of doubtful utility to him.

Dick said the plushy, deep brown recliner became a White Elephant when he shucked the cigarettes at 50 and started running…and running…and running.

It’s been 45 years since he became a fanatic about his running and power walking. Soller has become a rock star on the Masters Track circuit. He received standing ovations in Ft. Lauderdale at The National Senior Games in May for his perseverance.

Meanwhile, that recliner gathers dust.

“It might sell it with the house, or give it to somebody who refuses to get out and exercise,” Soller said.

Geezer Jock had to catch up with Dick this week because he is part of a fascinating story by the Associated Press on “zombie genes” and how they might be stopped. The research is called cellular senescence.

From the story:

It’s built upon the idea that cells eventually stop dividing and enter a “senescent” state in response to various forms of damage. The body removes most of them. But others linger like zombies.

They aren’t dead. But as the Mayo Clinic’s Nathan LeBrasseur puts it, they can harm nearby cells like moldy fruit corrupting a fruit bowl.

They accumulate in older bodies, which mounting evidence links to an array of age-related conditions such as dementia, cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis.

But scientists wonder: Can the zombie cell buildup be stopped?