ABOVE: As fruit flies age, they climb the sides of a vial less often. But flies with improved protein translation accuracy keep climbing into old age.
© ISTOCK, SUNDRY PHOTOGRAPHY
A genetic tweak that improves the accuracy of protein synthesis can lengthen an organism’s lifespan, according to a paper published this week (September 14) in Cell Metabolism. The results were consistent across three species—the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, and the yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe—suggesting that building better proteins may be linked to longevity in other species, too.
“The work is very convincing, very compelling, and I think it addresses a really important outstanding question in the field of aging: What are the best ways to look after our proteins and help ourselves to function better for longer?” says protein researcher John Labbadia of University College London who was not involved in the research.
As an organism ages, the ...
