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| A neuron transfected with GFP (source) |
As vertebrates age, DNA damage and mutations accumulate to the point where we begin to see "functional failure", causing cancers and other age-related illnesses. Specifically, double-stranded breaks (DSBs) are the worst type of DNA damage, because they can lead to loss of genetic information and chromosomal rearrangement. Cells do possess mechanisms to correct any damaged DNA, but when the repair machinery can't keep up with the DNA damage, the cells stop dividing (senescence) or they commit suicide (apoptosis). But what is it that prevents DNA repair processes from keeping up as we age? Researchers Vera Gorbunova and Andrei Seluanov of the University of Rochester (New York, USA)
have discovered one reason (
open access): the machinery ages too, and it is replaced with slower, less accurate parts.
