Old cells do not go gently into that good night. In people who age prematurely, changes in the way that DNA is tightly packed in cells leads to mayhem that promotes the aging process, researchers have discovered.
Werner syndrome, a genetic disorder also known as adult progeria, leads to graying hair, cataracts, osteoporosis and other signs of aging in people in their 20s. Researchers investigating the syndrome found that mutations associated with the disorder disrupt DNA packaging. These packaging changes unleash genes that shouldn’t be turned on, promoting premature aging, an international team of scientists report online April 30 in Science.