Now for the boring details where the devil may be hidden. The Salk Institute in San Diego, California announced the discovery of the PHA-4 gene which is known to have a critical function in prolonging life without tapping into the insulin-regulating pathways. These pathways are known to control the aging process in human beings. Scientists present at the announcement were excited about the discovery because they perceive the new discovery will change the direction and duration of research needed to bring the new discovery to fruition. These scientists were, as usual, cautious. They felt that duplicating the results in humans would be difficult because human beings talk, eat more, and have more genes to deal with.
Scientists already know that there are two ways to increase longevity in human beings. The first is to increase sensitivity to insulin at the cellular level. The proof for this was demonstrated in mice. Mice with a modified gene to increase sensitivity to insulin lived twice as long as other mice. The modification of this gene was not without adverse effects. Mice with this gene experienced stunted growth and reproduction.
The second way to prolong life is by dietary restriction. Mice which were given only 70% of their normal intake lived 20 to 30 percent longer than mice that had a normal diet. These two points were clearly made by biologist Hugo Aguilanio during the release of this ground breaking research. If human beings were subjected to these dietary restrictions then they would live 15 to 20 years more. By definition, the restricted diet did not mean that the human beings had to live in starvation conditions. It was revealed that the diet needed to be balanced with the right bland of nutrients, minerals and vitamins. These scientists also pointed out that the link between eating less and living long had been known for a long time but the link between this gene and longevity was not known until now.
The new finding is published in the British journal Nature. The C. elegans worms were fed a bacteria which switched off their PHA-4 gene. These worms did not experience prolonged lifespans when they were placed on a slimming diet. Andrew Dilin was the principal researcher who conducted this research. The same experiment was repeated to with mice who had the PHA-4 gene which over expressed itself. These worms lived longer. Hence, to date this is the proof for life's longevity.
It must be noted that in the first experiment scientists were able to demonstrate that the gene was crucial for the diet-induced longevity. It did not conclusively proof that the PHA-4 gene resulted in a longer lifespan. It is for this reason that the second experiment was devised. The conclusions are obvious to readers.
When the PHA-4 gene was present and it over expressed itself the mice lived longer. Does this mean that if the PHA-4 gene in human beings is triggered to over express itself than humans will be able to live longer? The answer is (still) blowing in the wind! Waiting to be discovered.
