Shedding light on why drastically restricting calorie intake prolongs life span in some organisms, MIT researchers report in the Jan. 1 issue of Genes & Development that lowering the level of a common coenzyme activates an anti-aging gene in yeast.Calorie restriction extends life span in a wide spectrum of organisms, and has been shown to delay the onset or reduce the incidence of many age-related diseases, including cancer and diabetes. No one is sure why it works.
