By repairing their DNA, two US study teams were able to prevent the aging of mice. Dr. Marty Makary, a health policy specialist at Johns Hopkins, stated on “Varney & Co.” on Tuesday that “new research now shows that the aging process may be reversed.” That is, the possibility exists that a gene coding for a younger physiological response is carried by the organism.
Repairing DNA
By repairing their DNA, two US study teams were able to prevent the aging of mice.
Dr. Marty Makary, a health policy specialist at Johns Hopkins, stated on “Varney & Co.” on Tuesday that “new research now shows that the aging process may be reversed.” That is, the possibility exists that a gene coding for a younger physiological response is carried by the organism.
“For roughly the past 50 years, the widely accepted hypothesis has been that an accumulation of mutations plays a significant role in the aging process. However, there is mounting proof that aging includes a large epigenetic component. That is, the mechanism by which portions of DNA or the genes are turned on and off,” said David Sinclair, senior author of the study and co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research at the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School.
Fundamental Cause
In addition to being the fundamental cause of aging, epigenetic alterations, in the opinion of my colleagues and I, are also fueled by the continual process of DNA damage and repair.
According to Sinclair, “We think ours is the first work to demonstrate epigenetic alteration as a fundamental cause of aging in animals.”
In the future, scientists plan to test their results on humans and larger creatures, according to Harvard researchers.
“First, the findings must be verified in humans and bigger creatures. Studies on non-human primates are now being conducted, according to a statement from Harvard.
According to Sinclair, “We hope that these findings will be viewed as a turning point in our capacity to manage aging.” This is the first research demonstrating that humans have perfect control over an animal’s biological age and can move it ahead and backward at whim.
Other Reports, Harvard
For the first time, aging in an organism may be caused by deterioration in the way DNA is structured and regulated (known as epigenetics), irrespective of changes to the genetic code itself, according to a worldwide study that has taken 13 years to complete.
The research demonstrates that mice age due to a breakdown in epigenetic information, and that those indicators of aging may be reversed by restoring the integrity of the epigenome.
According to the paper’s senior author, David Sinclair, a genetics professor at the Blavatnik Institute of Harvard Medical School and co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research, “we believe ours is the first study to show epigenetic change as a primary driver of aging in mammals.”
The wide set of tests conducted by the team offer long-needed proof that DNA mutations are not the only or even the primary cause of aging. Instead, the results demonstrate that chromatin, the DNA and protein complex that makes up chromosomes, undergoes chemical and structural changes that drive aging without changing the genetic code itself.
