The genetics of ageing
CJ Kenyon - Nature, 2010 - nature.com
CJ Kenyon
Nature, 2010•nature.comThe nematode Caenorhabditis elegans ages and dies in a few weeks, but humans can live
for 100 years or more. Assuming that the ancestor we share with nematodes aged rapidly,
this means that over evolutionary time mutations have increased lifespan more than 2,000-
fold. Which genes can extend lifespan? Can we augment their activities and live even
longer? After centuries of wistful poetry and wild imagination, we are now getting answers,
often unexpected ones, to these fundamental questions.
for 100 years or more. Assuming that the ancestor we share with nematodes aged rapidly,
this means that over evolutionary time mutations have increased lifespan more than 2,000-
fold. Which genes can extend lifespan? Can we augment their activities and live even
longer? After centuries of wistful poetry and wild imagination, we are now getting answers,
often unexpected ones, to these fundamental questions.
Abstract
The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans ages and dies in a few weeks, but humans can live for 100 years or more. Assuming that the ancestor we share with nematodes aged rapidly, this means that over evolutionary time mutations have increased lifespan more than 2,000-fold. Which genes can extend lifespan? Can we augment their activities and live even longer? After centuries of wistful poetry and wild imagination, we are now getting answers, often unexpected ones, to these fundamental questions.
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