scientists slow aging in fruit flies

“Aging process can be slowed down”, as demonstrated by scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Scientists have manipulated a gene in fruitflies that has resulted in extending the life of the insects by as much as 50 percent. The gene that was manipulated was the same gene that is also found in humans but still researchers think it too early to tell whether they could achieve these results in humans or not.

Fruit fly although a whole different in appearances, share a common gene with humans called PGC-1. PGC-1 is a vital regulator of energy metabolism in cells throughout the body but this gene found in fruit fly’s intestine is of special interest .The researchers were able to boost the lifespan by 50 percent by enhancing the expressive output of genes in intestinal cells. The increased workload on these cells made them healthier.

David walker, assistant professor of integrative biology and physiology, UCLA, saying: "This is telling us that it's important to maintain a healthy intestine in terms of your longevity. It also raises a number of additional interesting questions, and some of these questions are: if you maintain healthy intestinal function, how does that impact other organs within the fly such as the brain or the muscle?”

Researchers hope to answer all questions and its relevance to human aging with future experiments.