It maintains the balance of the X chromosome
2:00 PM CDT on June 16, 2026
Aging, of course, is inevitable for everyone, but it affects men and women differently. Women, for example, live longer than men, but also become frailer later in life. Despite these well-known aging differences between the sexes, their root causes are still something of a mystery. Now, new research published in Nature hits on the possible molecular mechanisms behind the discrepancies, and it implicates a group of proteins first discovered in yeast—sirtuins.
Sirtuins are a family of highly conserved primordial proteins present in all kingdoms of life, from bacteria to humans. As part of the core genetic machinery, they play a variety of roles, including in the organization and repair of genetic material. Mice who lack certain sirtuin genes, like SIRT7, also show signs of premature aging, however these effects vary significantly between males and females.
Read more: “Physics Makes Aging Inevitable, Not Biology”
