Most people think that the secret to aging slowly is antioxidants but it is the exact opposite. Scientists at McGill University found that free radicals or oxidants promote longevity. The free radicals act on a mechanism that sometimes triggers apoptosis, also known as cell suicide. When stimulated correctly this mechanism reinforces the cells defenses and increases its lifespan. In a model which McGill created they elevated the generation rate of free radicals and induced a "substantially longer life."
To read more about the free radicals go to the link below!
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2014/05/08/what.doesnt.kill.you.may.make.you.live.longer
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Science is based on evidence- the scientists at McGill University have performed multiple trials and collected data to be used as evidence.
Importance of repeatability- multiple trials have been tested
Conflicts within the scientific community- original people believed that the secret to anti-aging was antioxidants instead of oxidants.
I'm rather confused by this article. I feel that in order for scientists to state that oxidants make people live longer instead of antioxidants, they would have to take two people and have them live exactly the same way except for the factor of taking in oxidants or antioxidants. They would also have to have identical twins. I do not believe that these scientists can make that statement without having tested it with controls. It's just so tricky with humans. Maybe if they reformulated their statement to making bacteria live longer or animals, but to say in general that it makes life longer is preposterous!
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