Post by Chesapeake on Jul 2, 2010 7:57:38 GMT -5
Scientists Discover Genetic Keys to Long Life
Updated: Friday, 02 Jul 2010, 7:36 AM CDT
Published : Friday, 02 Jul 2010, 7:31 AM CDT
By Robert Lee Hotz
(The Wall Street Journal) - By analyzing the DNA of the world's oldest people, Boston University scientists said Thursday they discovered a genetic signature of longevity and expect to offer a test soon that could let people learn whether they have the constitution to live to a very old age.
The researchers, who studied more than 1,000 people over the age of 100, identified a set of 150 unique genetic markers that, taken together, are linked to extreme longevity. They acknowledged they did not know all the genes involved, nor their exact functions in extending old age.
"This is an extremely complex trait that involves many processes," said lead researcher Paola Sebastiani, a biostatistician at BU's School of Public Health. Even so, "we can compute your specific predisposition to exceptional longevity," she said.
The researchers said they had no plans to patent the technique nor profit from it. Instead, they expect to make a free test kit available on the internet later this month to foster longevity research.
But the test might reveal more than some people would like to know, the BU scientists warned, because genetic testing often shows tantalizing but incomplete information. People with genes for extreme longevity could face a series of difficult decisions about their careers, retirement savings, insurance coverage, medical treatments and marriages in old age.
Scientists have long sought to crack the genetic code of healthy aging. On average, people in developed countries live for between 80 and 85 years, largely as a result of improvements in diet and public health. But the oldest of the old -- the "wellderly" -- live two to three decades longer, often free of mental and physical ailments.
The oldest person alive today is 116 years old, according to the Los Angeles Gerontology Group. The oldest person on record lived to be 122 years old.
Souorce: The Wall Street Journal
(This article is provided by NewsCore, which aggregates news from around News Corporation.)
Updated: Friday, 02 Jul 2010, 7:36 AM CDT
Published : Friday, 02 Jul 2010, 7:31 AM CDT
By Robert Lee Hotz
(The Wall Street Journal) - By analyzing the DNA of the world's oldest people, Boston University scientists said Thursday they discovered a genetic signature of longevity and expect to offer a test soon that could let people learn whether they have the constitution to live to a very old age.
The researchers, who studied more than 1,000 people over the age of 100, identified a set of 150 unique genetic markers that, taken together, are linked to extreme longevity. They acknowledged they did not know all the genes involved, nor their exact functions in extending old age.
"This is an extremely complex trait that involves many processes," said lead researcher Paola Sebastiani, a biostatistician at BU's School of Public Health. Even so, "we can compute your specific predisposition to exceptional longevity," she said.
The researchers said they had no plans to patent the technique nor profit from it. Instead, they expect to make a free test kit available on the internet later this month to foster longevity research.
But the test might reveal more than some people would like to know, the BU scientists warned, because genetic testing often shows tantalizing but incomplete information. People with genes for extreme longevity could face a series of difficult decisions about their careers, retirement savings, insurance coverage, medical treatments and marriages in old age.
Scientists have long sought to crack the genetic code of healthy aging. On average, people in developed countries live for between 80 and 85 years, largely as a result of improvements in diet and public health. But the oldest of the old -- the "wellderly" -- live two to three decades longer, often free of mental and physical ailments.
The oldest person alive today is 116 years old, according to the Los Angeles Gerontology Group. The oldest person on record lived to be 122 years old.
Souorce: The Wall Street Journal
(This article is provided by NewsCore, which aggregates news from around News Corporation.)
