A HOTHOUSE FOR BIOTECH

摘要

For Cynthia J. Kenyon, the secret to a long, healthy life is in the genes. That's what she concluded after 10 arduous years spent isolating and analyzing some of the 19,000 genes of a microscopic roundworm. The University of California, San Francisco biochemist announced in early July that a single gene known as daf-2 dictates the behavior of other genes that control cellular-stress responses. When altered through a process of chemical mutation, that lone gene keeps the others functioning normally―helping the body resist the wear and tear of aging. The worm's lifespan doubles, and by all appearances, it is healthier than other worms half its age. Dorian Gray, the worm, is just the beginning. Scientists elsewhere have duplicated Kenyon's results in fruit flies and mice, shedding light on some of the fundamental questions about why and how living things age. Because humans share many genes and much basic biochemistry with lesser animals, such work may provide clues to creating a fountain-of-youth pill or injection. And even if 50-year-olds don't end up looking like college kids, this line of inquiry could spawn novel treatments for heart disease, Huntington's disease, and certain cancers associated with aging.