Solar-powered longevity

Light-activated proton pumps can generate cellular energy and extend life, research shows.

It may seem the stuff of science fiction, but new research has taken a leaf out of the renewable energy book and demonstrated that genetically-engineered mitochondria can convert light energy into chemical energy that cells can use.

My take on this: The research, which was published in Nature Aging, was authored by members of the Universities of Washington, Rochester and Munich, and the Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology in Dummerstorf. They discovered that converted-from-light energy had the upshot of ultimately extending the life of the roundworm C elegans, and while the prospect of sunlight-charged cells in humans is still only a dim vision, these findings shed light on important mechanisms in the aging process.

Mitochondria are organelles found in most cells in the body. Often referred to as cellular power plants, mitochondria use glucose to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the compound that provides energy for key functions in the cell, such as muscle contraction and the electrical impulses that help nerve cells communicate with each other.

Production of ATP is the result of a number of reactions made possible by the exchange of protons across a membrane that separates different compartments in mitochondria, ultimately forming a process called membrane potential. It has been shown that membrane potential declines with age, potentially playing a role in a number of age-related diseases, such as neurodegenerative disorders.

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