2. What Does the FOXO say?
Worms, flies, mice, and humans share 46 genes regulated by the same family of FOXO proteins that play roles in metabolism, DNA repair, and other processes important to aging and longevity. The data could help researchers develop hypotheses about human FOXOs, which in turn could improve our lifespan, or at least our healthspan, says Ashley Webb, PhD, assistant professor of molecular biology, cell biology, and biochemistry and lead author of a recent paper in Aging Cell. “If we want to enhance tissue function in the elderly, we need to first know how a normal healthy cell functions, and why it becomes dysfunctional with age,” she says.
