{
  "id": 15267791,
  "title": "Study reveals how exercise supports muscle health and counters aging",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/17/study-reveals-how-exercise-supports-muscle-health-and-counters-aging",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-17T19:44:11.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Ajel English",
    "slug": "ajel-english",
    "url": "https://english.ajel.sa/lifestyle/0tywogb1n"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A recent scientific investigation published in the journal PNAS has revealed that regular physical activity may help counteract age-related muscle deterioration by enhancing the body's capacity to repair damaged proteins and eliminate dysfunctional ones. Conducted by researchers from Duke-NUS Medical School, alongside Singapore General Hospital and Cardiff University, the study delved into the molecular mechanisms underlying how exercise preserves muscle health as individuals grow older. Age-related muscle mass and strength loss renders daily tasks more challenging and raises the risk of falls and fractures, potentially impeding recovery from injuries and influencing blood sugar and metabolic regulation. To sustain muscle health, a delicate equilibrium must exist between generating fresh proteins and eliminating outdated or damaged ones—a process crucial for efficient muscle tissue function. A cellular process called mTORC1, which governs cell growth and protein synthesis, can become dysfunctional with age, as cells often amplify protein synthesis while failing to remove damaged proteins, resulting in their accumulation and hampering muscle function and regeneration. Researchers pinpointed a gene called DEAF1 as a contributor to this imbalance, noting that DEAF1 levels surge with age, correlating with heightened mTORC1 activity and impaired maintenance processes within muscle cells. Typically, proteins known as FOXO modulate gene activity and uphold cellular equilibrium, keeping DEAF1 levels in check. However, as these proteins' efficacy wanes with age, DEAF1 levels may increase, disrupting the equilibrium vital for muscle health. The study discovered that exercise influences these molecular mechanisms by stimulating regulatory proteins that reduce DEAF1 levels and restore mTORC1 activity to a more balanced state. This shift empowers muscle cells to more effectively eliminate damaged proteins and manufacture fresh ones, bolstering repair and regeneration processes that naturally wane with age. Lead investigator Tang Hong-wen elucidated that physical activity rebalances the cellular growth pathway, enabling aging muscles to better eliminate damaged proteins and regenerate themselves, potentially augmenting their strength and suppleness. However, these findings are still in the preliminary stages, as the experiments were performed on fruit flies and mice, and it remains unverified whether the same mechanisms apply to humans. Consequently, targeting DEAF1 therapeutically necessitates additional research to determine its efficacy and safety. The study underscores the potential of exercise in sustaining muscle health as people age, albeit it does not posit that the effects of aging can be wholly undone, but rather suggests promising biological mechanisms that might mitigate muscle function decline in the future.",
  "summary": "A new study finds that regular exercise may help reverse age-related muscle decline by boosting repair and clearing damaged proteins.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}