There are a couple things i would like to do with this here blog of mine before i really get into blogging.

• Get one of those comment services going.
• Come up with my own layout and color-scheme.
• Read some other people's blogs.

I heard on the radio a bunch of biologists talking about research they've been doing into aging. The two ideas I picked up were that red wine contains a molecule that increases the lifespan of nematodes, but the molecule is so unstable that it would be hard to turn it into a drug. Suprisingly, the lower the dose, the better the result. The molecule is called resveritrol, and the researcher was David Sinclair of Harvard.

The other idea was that a researcher at UCSF found that knocking out an insulin receptor can greatly (double or triple) the lifespan of an organism. This may have something to do with low-calorie diets correlating with longer lifespans.

But really, people. We already live a long time, and the US at least doesn't seem capable (or even that interested) in taking care of our ageing population. We've spent the social security reserves. Are we going to raise the retirement age, essentially forcing everyone to start taking longevity drugs? Or will we keep it where it is, allowing those wealthy enough to take expensive drugs their whole lives to retire after only the first half of their life?

PS, everyone should know about Instant Runoff Voting. Check out a neat animated explanation.

This is my first blog ever, and i'm pretty excited about it. Although, knowing me, there's a good chance i'll forget my login and never come back. Oh well, it's worth a shot.

For now, you can check out my work website. I have a degree in Neurobiology and Comparative Literature, but for some reason i'm working as a software engineer. Nobody's really sure why.