Longevity Gene Debate Opens Trans-Atlantic Rift

This article is about the long lasting disputes about enhancing one's longevity, which is life expectancy.The dispute involves the gene that is responsible in making sirtuins, which is proteins that help control metabolism. Because of sirtuins' metabolic role, lab rats placed on a very low-calorie diet lived 40-percent longer lives. Humans will not function well on the same diet that the rats had; but if humans take drugs that activate sirtuins , they can live longer and healthier lives. Resveratrol is found in red wine and stimulates sirtuins production.

Researchers David Gems and Linda Patridge of University College of London, re-examined experiments where roundworms and fruit fly were genetically manipulated to produce more sirtuins and lived longer. They founded that the experiments were flawed because the control group were not genetically identical. When they repeated the experiments, they founded that organism with extra sirtuins do not live longer.

The genetic study of aging is a new field and has many common mistakes. In 2009,Stephen Helfand of Brown University conduct the same experiment as the two London researchers. Only Helfand founded that the flies with the extra sirtuins did live longer than the flies without the extra sirtunis.

London scientist believe that this field is filled with sloppy experiments. While the American scientist believe that there is still improvement to be made. Scientists no involved in the debate say that sirtuins remains a field of vast interests and is more complex than origanially suggested.

By:Christine Garbaravage