6/30/2009 PERMALINK
Scientists claim to have found a potential 'biological fountain of youth' Scientists say their new discovery could lead to the single most important medical breakthrough in human history -- significantly longer lifespans. "Ultimately we are trying to discover what underlying mechanisms allow for some animal species to live a very long time with the hope that we might be able to develop therapies that allow people to age more slowly," said Asish Chaudhuri, Professor of Biochemistry, VA Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas and the senior researcher involved in the work.

Asish and colleagues made their discovery by extracting proteins from the livers of two long-lived bat species (Tadarida brasiliensis and Myotis velifer) and young adult mice and exposed them to chemicals known to cause protein misfolding. After examining the proteins, the scientists found that the bat proteins exhibited less damage than those of the mice, indicating that the bats have a mechanism for maintaining proper protein structure under extreme stress that other organisms lack. Once this mechanism is fully understood, the researchers believe that it could lead to therapies capable of significantly extending human lifespans.