September 20, 2005 Source: University of Calgary:
http://www.ucalgary.ca/news/sept05/battle-of-sexes.html Battle of the Sexes: Females Winning in Aging War With the ever-growing obsession to maintain youth through exercise, nutrition, cosmetics and any other method that may prevent a tell-tale sign of aging, early research suggests there is good news for women. Females appear to be winning the muscle aging war over men – and it has nothing to do with fitness, vegetables or night creams. Female physiology is simply different. “Muscle cells decline with age in everyone,” explains University of Calgary student Marina McConkey. “However, our research has found that the mitochondria, which are the powerhouses of your cells, decline less in female muscles as compared to males. This correlates directly to muscle endurance – an important factor that affects quality of life as it relates to movement and mobility.” McConkey’s research concurs with the research of her faculty mentor, Dr. Russ Hepple from Kinesiology and Medicine, who has also found that males exhibit a further decline in muscle oxidative capacity as compared to females. “We are interested in finding out what can be done to help maintain muscle function across the lifespan so that quality of life and independence can be maintained,” says Hepple. “Research such as McConkey’s infers that women may lose their muscle function more slowly with aging than men.” McConkey is one of 18 U of C undergraduate students working on a wide range of bone and joint related research projects that will be showcased on Tuesday, September 20 in the Rozsa Centre from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. The Undergraduate Student Research Program (USRP) is open to students in Engineering, Kinesiology, Medicine, Nursing and Science. The students get money or course credit as well as the opportunity to work shoulder-to-shoulder with a top U of C researcher. “The funding is a great incentive for students,” says Aaron Tubman, USRP coordinator. “Scholarships and research grants are made possible by a generous donation from U of C benefactors Allan Markin and Jackie Flanagan. This year, students received $80,000 worth of Markin-Flanagan studentships.” For more details on the program, contact Aaron Tubman, USRP Coordinator and U of C Kinesiology Researcher, Faculty of Kinesiology at 220-2994. __________ Grady Semmens Media Relations Advisor – Research University of Calgary Phone: (403) 220-7722 Cell: (403) 651-2515 Fax: (403) 220-1312 Email: gsemmens@ucalgary.ca
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