Scientists Discover Gene That Prevents Aging

Researchers studying a group of people with an average age of 97 found they had all inherited a gene that appears to prevent cells aging.

They found that the 86 people studied and their children had higher levels of an enzyme called telomerase which is known to protect the body's DNA from degrading.

The team from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, who studied an American Ashkenazi Jewish community, said that the finding could lead to anti-aging drugs.

Telomerase is known to protect telomeres which stop the string of DNA unravelling much like the plastic tips at the ends of shoelaces stop fraying.

Each time a cell divides, its telomeres shortens and the cell becomes more susceptible to dying.

www.telegraph.co.uk...

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Interesting find, there may be something to this, on my fathers side of the family longevity is common, my Aunts lived well into their nineties with very good health and my fathers is now ninety and in excellent health.

Maybe this is how they are going to turn our species in to the "Grays"?

I wonder if science keeps going the course with all this genetic manipulation with our own children and food supply... what we are going to look like 100 years from now...

Edit for spelling errors...

[edit on 11/17/2009 by x2Strongx]

Quite interesting S&F This is fairly big news i would imagine.

Well now they better hurry up with an injection of this stuff, if it only prevents and not reverses aging i say they have 10 years to do it, im no spring chicken anymore and if they could halt my aging by the time im 40 that would be appreciated.

Now this would definitely put a dent in Plastic Surgery... Well... at least some of it anyway

I guess there are some things that the "Fountain of Youth" can't fix!

Its cool that your posting this. However, FYI, Telomerase was discovered a few years back and there are already programs doing human trials with drugs that are supposed to repair DNA and prevent/cure aging. There are also a few drugs you can buy for a few hundred dollars which are supposed to contain Telomerase.

reply to post by Seventhdoor


I remember something about this, would be interested in results, of course it is too soon to know, my feeling is they don't work, some things have to be natural, these so called drug discoveries seem to go no where.

reply to post by Aquarius1


Wow! Picture this the future: people standing in a qeue to get their Amino Acid and Ribo Nucleic Acid 'updated' by a few shots of Telomerase .....

For ever being 'young'

I wonder what dangers are of shots (or drinks or food) like that .....