Hormone Changes Lifespan Finding May Throw A Wrench In Previous Aging Studies
Saturday, February 7, 2015 - 16:30
in Biology & Nature
One of the ways to study longevity has been engineering fruit flies whose genes can be turned on and off by a synthetic hormone, allowing detailed studies of the effects of single genes on life span. They do that because many of the genes have close relatives in humans. Unfortunately, the hormone used to perform the studies turns out to be anything but neutral, according to a new study. If so, it means studies on the genetic roots of aging will need a second look, because a common lab chemical can extend the life span of female fruit flies by 68 percent. read more