By deleting a single gene from a mouse's genetic makeup, researchers have created a mighty mouse with a longer, healthier life. The change mimicked the effect of keeping the mice on a calorie-restricted diet.
Severely restricting the diets of yeast, bacteria, mice and primates have granted these animals unnaturally long lives. For humans, however, maintaining a diet of near starvation would be difficult at best [Discovery News].
That's why researchers are actively pursuing drugs that could produce the same anti-aging effect. Study coauthor Dominic Withers says the effect was striking--but for reasons not yet understood, only the female mice benefited. The mice didn't just live longer, they also had fewer age-related ailments.
"These mice were resistant to type 2 diabetes ... and they also appeared to have reduced incidence of the mouse-equivalent of osteoporosis -- so they had stronger bones," Withers said. Balance, strength and coordination all improved in the ...
