How One Protein Might Be Contributing to Human Aging

Researchers may have uncovered one of the universal causes of aging: A crucial type of protein that serves a double duty in organisms ranging from yeast to mice, and that becomes overwhelmed as the organism ages. The protein is charged both with repairing DNA damage and with regulating gene expression (so that, for example, a gene necessary for liver function doesn't suddenly get turned on in the brain), and a new study has shown that when the protein is busy repairing DNA, it can't perform its other task. Says lead author David Sinclair: