Team finds key clue to longer lifespans

Natural selection has produced mammals that age at dramatically different rates. Take, for example, naked mole rats and mice. The former can live up to 41 years, nearly ten times as long as similar-size rodents such as mice.

What accounts for longer lifespan? According to the new research from biologists at the University of Rochester, a key piece of the puzzle lies in the mechanisms that regulate gene expression.

In a paper in Cell Metabolism, the researchers investigated genes connected to lifespan. Their research uncovered specific characteristics of these genes and revealed that two regulatory systems controlling gene expression—circadian and pluripotency networks—are critical to longevity.