Genes And Calorie Restriction
"To lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals." Starting with those wise words from Benjamin Franklin in 1733, ScienCentral takes a look at the mechanisms of calorie restriction (CR). "Can we find other ways of creating this same state as calorie restriction creates without having to calorie restrict? ... CR appears to trigger a gene called Sir (Silent Information Regulator) 2, which seems to be directly linked to prolonging lifespan in different organisms. ... Our studies show that, in fact, when you increase Sir2, you live longer; when you block Sir2 from being able to be increased, you can block the calorie restriction response ... What we're trying to achieve is a longer lifespan while maintaining our healthy physiology longer."
Link: http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.php3?type=article&article_id=218392437