Feature: Coming of AGE – how molecular strategies may soon improve quality of life. Rhian Grainger explains how small drug-like molecules may soon help us tackle the biological impacts of ageing.
The biological effects of aging are clear for all to see. The average age of the British public is steadily rising. Partial reversal of aging achieved in mice. Harvard scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute say they have for the first time partially reversed age-related degeneration in mice, resulting in new growth of the brain and testes, improved fertility, and the return of a lost cognitive function.
In a report posted online by the journal Nature in advance of print publication, researchers led by Ronald A. DePinho, a Harvard Medical School (HMS) professor of genetics, said they achieved the milestone in aging science by engineering mice with a controllable telomerase gene. The telomerase enzyme maintains the protective caps called telomeres that shield the ends of chromosomes. As humans age, low levels of telomerase are associated with progressive erosion of telomeres, which may then contribute to tissue degeneration and functional decline in the elderly.
Gene that Increases Number of Mitochondria Holds Key to Longevity.