Scouring Sequences for the Fountain of Youth

"EVERY man desires to live long; but no man would be old," wrote Jonathan Swift. In the quest to live life long and well, people have consumed everything from turtle soup to owl meat to gladiator's blood. Russian French microbiologist Ilya Mechnikov thought a human could live for 150 years on a steady diet of milk cultured with bacteria (he died at 71). While the Internet offers a wide variety of products for fountain-of-youth seekers, some researchers have turned their attention to the genes (see story, p. 34).

Protective Genes

• FOXO (forkhead box) – transcription factors controlling apoptosis and response to oxidative stress• CETP (cholesteryl ester transfer protein) – mutation common in centenarians; enlarges HDL and LDL particles• MTP (microsomal transfer protein) – controls the rate of lipoprotein synthesis• APO E (apolipoprotein E) – centenarians lack allele ε4; instead have allele ε2

Common Disorders:

• Alzheimer disease• Cancers• Cardiovascular ...