DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

The Chronicle Magazine ran an interesting article about Cynthia Kenyon, a biochemist at UCSF working in the area of lifespan research. Or more specifically, lifespan extension.

By suppressing a single gene, her team has extended the life span of a particular variety of worm by a factor of six. If she could perform the same trick on me, I’d live to be 400, which would be a good thing. (For example, I’d have more time to update this website.)

Tiny, transparent worms are not genetically similar to humans, except for a few ex-roommates I could mention. But there is good news for any of you who happen to be mammalian vertebrates:

Other researchers have conducted versions of Kenyon’s age-bending experiments to increase the life spans of flies and yeast — and, far more significantly for humans, of mice. Conducted by Martin Holzenberger of the French Biomedical Research Agency and independently by Ron Kahn at the Harvard Medical School, the mouse tests genetically coaxed mice to live 33 percent longer than normal.

Here’s the full article: Finding the Fountain of Youth