Why are some people older than they actually are?

Why are some people older and some people able to stay young? A study published in the journal Current Biology for the first time explains why some people seem very different from the actual age from the genetic level.

Researchers at Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Erasmus University Netherlands, Unilever Group and researcher from other countries made cooperation to conduct a large-scale study on age genetic factors of skin perception. In this project, the scientists shared the nearly one hundred thousand people repeatedly assessed over four thousand individuals face quality photos, precise quantification of each person's perception of age (i.e. old looks young extent), and analyzed nearly 8 million a DNA loci and perceived relationship with age.

The first study found that age and perceived links between genes and found that people with a particular gene MC1R genotype looks better than other peers on average two years old. This discovery is expected to rapidly increase our understanding of the perception of age. MC1R gene is human skin melanin synthesis process of the key genes, genetic defects can cause skin lacks natural protection of melanin, leading to more ultraviolet light on the skin caused by a variety of long-term damage, and may thus lead to skin cancer.

"Melanin synthesis MC1R gene only their perceptions of age a small part", the first author of the study, the researchers pointed out that Beijing Genomics Liu Fan, "The data show the role of MC1R gene in the perception of age are not subject to skin color, Effect of UV damage and sun exposure and other factors, there are other features described MC1R plays a key role in the present cell function known by the MC1R also include the participation of oxidative damage, DNA repair and immune regulation, which may lead to the perception of age reasons for the changes."

Liu Fan also noted, "This study found multiple functional alleles in MC1R interact with each other in a special way of heterozygous compound. Next, we will use our newly-developed method to conduct comprehensive detection to heterozygous compound at genome-wide level, expecting to find more genes that affect the perception of age."

More can be found here: http://www.cusabio.com/Recombinant-Protein/Recombinant-Streptomyces-viridochromogenes-Phosphinothricin-N-acetyltransferase-11106407.html