Strange

Smoking screws up anti-aging gene: study

by Rob Peters | January 24, 2008 at 03:30 pm

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It's not a surprise that smoking makes people look older, but it's good to know why that is. It probably still won't get people to quit though.

I've always thought the best way to stop people from smoking is to put something in cigarettes that makes you fat. "Lard lights" perhaps?

If you need another reason to keep that New Year's resolution to quit smoking, here it is: a U.S. researcher says he has discovered smoking can disable a gene that protects against premature aging.

The gene, SIRT1 is one of a group that regulates chronic inflammation, cancer and aging. When it is highly active, or over-expressed in mice, worms and fruit flies, their lifespans are greatly increased.

Recent studies also show that SIRT1 helps ease the negative effects of stress, cell death and other processes involved in premature aging.