The Study:
Late-Life Exercise Mitigates Skeletal Muscle Epigenetic Aging
SomeGuy
(Joey)
#4
Of mice and men? (…and women?)
I had long been told that bone density is measurably improved within those limbs subjected to regular resistance training.
Never looked for peer-reviewed papers to explore this claim myself, but I’ve taken it as medical gospel.
PaulL
(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing)
#5
This has long been known. Bone resists stress, so stressing (without overdoing things, of course) helps it to stay strong. Even walking and doing ordinary daily chores is helpful, much less actual exercise. 
Of course, as we know, it’s impossible to out-exercise a bad diet, so if we are eating in a way that promotes atherosclerosis, and our body needs calcium to help stabilise arterial plaque, exercise is probably not going to do as much as it could to keep the calcium in our bones. But on the right diet (cough keto cough), exercise can be really beneficial to our bones.
BuckRimfire
(BuckRimfire)
#7
We should get DEXA scans again for fun. We had our first a couple of years ago, a scant year after starting keto. My bone density was quite good and my spousal critter’s was fantastic, something like the 96th percentile for a woman of her age.
BuckRimfire
(BuckRimfire)
#8
Molecular mechanisms are always going to be studied first in a model organism, since it’s so much quicker and cheaper. And as long as your institutional animal care committee approves your protocol, you can grind them up for biochemical analysis.
I don’t know how big a sample you need to study DNA methylation. If it’s tiny enough that it could just come from a needle biopsy, this would seem pretty simple to reproduce in humans.
BuckRimfire
(BuckRimfire)
#10
May I suggest https://grandroundsinurology.com/reversing-the-downward-spiral-of-aging/
Not sure I agree with that guy about a lot of things, but I like his take on fitness.
Plenty of good stuff here, too https://peterattiamd.com/category/exercise/
My wife and I liked this episode pretty well, but we listened to it with our 20-year-old daughter in the car on vacation last year and she hated it!
Formally exercising is not always fun, but it’s worth it…
gingersmommy
(Marianne)
#11
Yes, however I haven’t seen a gerbil that color - what about a dwarf hamster?
PaulL
(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing)
#12
The eyes are too big for it to be a hamster. I’m no expert, but I’m leaning towards baby mouse. The only thing is that the eyes look awfully big in proportion for a mouse, as well.
BuckRimfire
(BuckRimfire)
#13
It’s definitely a gerbil. They come in black and white and maybe a couple of other non-wild-type colors.
I found another website that has that same photo when searching for “white gerbil.” However, at least one of the photos there (under the “serious gnawers” heading) appears to be some sort of rat! Maybe a young lab rat.
PaulL
(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing)
#14
I checked the link, and you’re right; the picture above is definitely a gerbil. And on the linked page, you are also right that the pic under “Serious Gnawers” is a young rat!
I see hamsters and rats confused for each other all over teh Interwebz, so it’s not surprising that the other small rodents might also be in the mix(up), lol! Usually, if you can see the tail, it’s clearer which is which.
gingersmommy
(Marianne)
#15
I’m not disputing either of these opinions, however, I just thought this debate was cute. Could be a gerbil - they are adorable! Sorry for hijacking the thread!!! Okay, I’m done! 
BuckRimfire
(BuckRimfire)
#16
My wife has a life-long obsession with guinea pigs. We’ve had around 20 of them!
It’s amazing how many people can’t tell the difference between a guinea pig and a hamster!
robintemplin
(Robin)
#17
Pretty sure the guidelines for forum decorum make exceptions for gerbils and other rodent friends. You’re safe. 
