But without p66shc, the mice live 30 percent longer. The fruit-fly genome has just been sequenced. Now if you can identify those genes in model organisms, then the sequence of the human genome will give you the information you need to begin to extrapolate. We will figure out ways to manipulate the genes in the model organism and it'll suggest how those genes can be manipulated in humans. Another avenue age scientists are racing down is telomere research.
Telomeres are tasteful strands of nonsense DNA that decorate ends of chromosomes.
Each time a cell divides, a bit of the telomere is clipped off. Eventually, when the telomere is a mere buzz-cut stubble, the cell stops dividing. Some human tissues that divide indefinitely, such as reproductive cells producing sperm and eggs, contain telomerase. So do cells in embryos, but the telomerase gene is inactivated in most cells after birth. Reactivating telomerase could replenish lost cells.