More Progress In Repairing Mitochondrial DNA

As I'm sure you're all aware, mutations of mitochondrial DNA are an important form of age-related damage - any strategy for extending healthy life span must either repair this damage or make it irrelevant. Here, the Daily Mail has more news on repair efforts: "Defects in this mitochondrial DNA are blamed for a range of rare genetic diseases, including some forms of diabetes, blindness and heart problems. They have also been linked to ageing - suggesting that fixing the flaws could slow down the onset of old age. ... by labelling the functional genes with an "address code" - which effectively tells them where to go - French scientists have succeeded in smuggling them inside the mitochondria. Once there, the pair of genes repaired the damage behind a rare form of blindness and a muscle wasting disease ... In time, the same approach could be used to create injections of genes that will erase flaws thought to be linked to the ageing process. However, while this might slow down ageing, it would not halt it completely, as mitochondria are just one of many factors involved in the ageing process."

Link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/thehealthnews.html?in_article_id=475609

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