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The Associated Press and other news outlets are reporting that Italian scientists managed to increase the life expectancy of mice by 35 percent by manipulating their genes. The researchers switched off a gene that made the mice vulnerable to cell damage from oxygen. So far there is no evidence that the mice experienced any side effects from the change.
"They hit a milestone in aging research with this study -- they've found a genetic intervention in mice that make them live longer without any side effects," Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher Leonard Guarente told the Associated Press.
The principal researcher on the project, Pier Giusepe Pelicci warned that it was a big step from extending life span in mice to doing so in human beings, but oxidation has long been suspected as a major factor in the aging of human beings as well as other animals.
Sources:
Researchers increase life span of genetically engineered mice from the Associated Press, November 17, 1999.
Scientists Find Protein to Control Lifespan in Mice from Reuters, November 18, 1999.