EurekAlert reports on another gene newly connected to the aging process: "Researchers have discovered that the loss of a gene called p63 accelerates aging in mice. ... Aging and cancer are two sides of the same coin. In one case, cells stop dividing and in the other, they can't stop dividing. We suspect that having the right amount of the p63 protein in the right cells at the right time creates a balance that enables organisms to live relatively cancer-free for a reasonably long time." A lack of p63 accelerates aging in tissue - but then so do a large number of other things. There's no such thing as useless information in the biochemistry and genetics of aging, but it remains to be seen how important this new discovery turns out to be.
Link: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-08/cshl-gla081505.php