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	Podcast:		UC Science Today
	Episode:		Can you trick your genes to extend your life?
	Category:		Science & Medicine
	Duration:		00:01:04
	Publish Date:		2016-06-24 19:00:00
	Description:		Can you trick your genes into extending your life? Biologist Andrew Dillin of the University of California, Berkeley recently found two genes in the worm C.elegans that are affected by their diet during early development. Changes in the expression of these genes can actually alter the worms’ metabolism later on in life and sometimes even double their lifespan. "And that was very exciting, that basic finding that these genes do actually exist, and when we manipulate them, we could block this event. Or if we could turn them on, we could trick the system into thinking that they were metabolically stressed or metabolically altered, and they would end up living twice as long, for example." Dillin says future studies are needed to determine the relationship between these genes and longevity in humans. "If that correlation existed, it may actually predict if you could make a drug that could activate these genes. For example, a person that is predicted to be short-lived, maybe we could actually increase their life span so they would have a healthy normal life span, you know, grow up and be able to see their grandkids."
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