You might recall all the interest in links between the beneficial effects of calorie restriction and the SIR2 gene. Now, an abstract at PLoS Biology throws an extra wrinkle into the mix. “Kennedy’s team has found that the combination of calorie restriction and FOB1 mutation increases life span more than either approach does alone … If calorie restriction extends life through SIR2, then combining either caloric restriction or SIR2 overexpression with FOB1 mutations should produce the same result. This contradiction raised the possibility that calorie restriction operates through another mechanism, independent of SIR2.” While this work studied calorie restriction in yeast, it would seem to indicate that the comparable mechanisms in higher life forms are also a little more complex than was first thought. Stay tuned.
View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.plosbiology.org/plosonline/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0020308
Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/
