Noted: We all want to ignore the reality of aging and have our loved ones to stick around longer. Aging reveals not only the finite nature of human life, but also an increasing susceptibility to tortuous diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer?s, heart disease and diabetes — what biochemist Roz Anderson of the University of Wisconsin-Madison calls “age-associated diseases.” Scientists suggest that the differences in genomes can explain the differences in lifespans seen across species. And yet studies on animals as dissimilar as yeast, worms, fruit flies and mice have all shown that genetic tinkering can extend lifespans. Taken together, the studies are slowly revealing factors that can extend an organism?s lifespan.
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