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Free Radicals
First reported in the early 1990s, free radicals are extremely short-lived molecular fragments that have a lifespan measured in trillionths of a second or less. Because they exits as molecules with an unpaired electron, free radicals are extremely volatile and react super aggressively with other molecules at the instant of their creation. Therein lies the quintessential paradox of life...oxygen the sustainer of life is also its mortal enemy because the process of oxidation is detrimental to living tissues. In fact while absolutely necessary for cellular respiration, oxygens intricate involvement in life's processes lies at the very heart of growing old.
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