What I'm suggesting is that the SIR2 gene in yeast and the SIRT genes in mammals are all descendants of gene B, the original gene silencer in M. supe… - David A. Sinclair

In animal studies, the key to engaging the sirtuin program appears to be keeping things on the razor's edge through calorie restriction — just enough food to function in healthy ways and no more. This makes sense. It engages the survival circuit, telling longevity genes to do what they have been doing since primordial times: boost cellular defenses, keep organisms alive during times of adversity, ward off disease and deterioration, minimize epigenetic change, and slow down aging.

I had noticed that yeast cells fed with lower amounts of sugar were not just living longer, but their rDNA was exceptionally compact — significantly delaying the inevitable ERC accumulation, catastrophic numbers of DNA breaks, nucleolar explosion, sterility, and death. Why was that happening? THE

In my mind, there are few sins so egregious as extending life without health. This is important. It does not matter if we can extend lifespans if we cannot extend healthspans to an equal extent. And so if we're going to do the former, we have an absolute moral obligation to do the latter.