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In humans, modest dietary restriction combined with exercise is associated with smaller nucleoli in muscle biopsies.
For older adults, combining a modest 12.5% reduction in calories with a 12.5% increase in physical activity over 13 weeks was associated with smaller nucleoli in muscle tissue. This suggests that these lifestyle changes may improve cellular metabolic health.
ModerateConditionalMEDIUM confidence
Furthermore, human muscle biopsies from individuals who underwent modest dietary restriction coupled with exercise also display small nucleoli.
Why this rating
Small sample size (10 humans) and observational design.
Source
Small nucleoli are a cellular hallmark of longevity
Varnesh Tiku et al. · Nature Communications · 2017
DOI 10.1038/ncomms16083
mechanism_only · n=10Cited 294×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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- Small nucleolar size is a conserved cellular hallmark of longevity and metabolic health across multiple species, including C. elegans, Drosophila, mice, and humans.Good
- Knockdown of fibrillarin reduces nucleolar size and extends lifespan in wild-type C. elegans.Good
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