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Scientists said it could be one step closer to slowing down the aging process.
A team of scientists from the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) used yeast to study how the aging process works.
Yeast, a single-celled fungus, was selected because it is easy for scientists to manipulate, allowing them to study whether different cells age at the same rate and by the same means.
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Their findings, published in the journal Science, showed that despite the fact that the cells studied were made from the same material and within the same environment, they aged in “surprisingly different ways.”
Using microfluidics, computer modeling, and other techniques, scientists discovered that half of cells age through a “gradual decrease in the stability of the nucleolus,” a region of nuclear DNA in the nucleus, and functions as the ” brain”.
In comparison, the other half of the cells aged due to dysfunction of their mitochondria, which is the cell’s energy-producing unit.
The scientists concluded that cells will follow one of two life pathways, either through the mitochondria or the nucleolus, and will follow that “aging pathway” throughout their lives until they shrink or die.
“To understand how cells make these decisions, we identified the molecular processes underlying each aging pathway and the connections between them, revealing a molecular circuitry that controls cell aging, analogous to the electrical circuits that control household appliances,” said Nan Hao , lead author of The Study and associate professor at UCSD.
This information helped scientists create their own aging landscape in order to manipulate the aging process in cells. Then they were able to create a “new aging route” with a long shelf life.
“Our study raises the possibility of rationally designing genetic or chemical therapies to reprogram how human cells age, with the goal of effectively delaying human aging and extending human health capacity,” said Hao.
The researchers will now test their new model on more complex cells and organisms, with the goal of eventually manipulating human cells.
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