Recent research on gene therapy in China has yielded completely new and comprehensive data that gene therapy is currently capable of extending the lifespans of mice. This was achieved through the utilization of the newly discovered effects of the gene “kat7,” which is considered to be the main gene that contributes towards ageing in mammals (Reuters, n.d). The gene’s effects were discovered when a team of biologists used CRISPR/CAS9, a genetic modification tool to screen genes that affected the deterioration of cells in organisms. Out of approximately 10,000 genes, kat7 was found to be the main contributor towards the deterioration.
Scientists deactivated kat7 genes in mice in order to experiment with the newly discovered effects of kat7; the mice experienced a extended lifespan of approximately 25% and still maintained a relatively healthy body compared to normal mice, while the mice did not appear to suffer from any side effects (Reuters, n.d).
Now, the scientists plan to test the deactivation of kat7 genes in primates due to their similar organ cells to humans, possibly allowing the deactivation of kat7 genes in humans (Learningenglish, n.d).
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