Excerpt from: The Oakland Press (click for full article)
Scientists have homed in on how resveratrol -- a chemical commonly found
in red wine and chocolate -- works to prevent cell aging, which could
eventually lead to the development of synthetic drug treatments for
obesity, diabetes, cancer, and other conditions, according to new
research published in Science.
Though researchers have been
looking at resveratrol for years, this new research, from Harvard
Medical School, is considered a breakthrough in understanding the
chemical's potential to increase the activity of a protein called SIRT1,
which helps fuel the power-producing parts of cells and in turn may
fight age-related illnesses like cardiovascular disease or type 2
diabetes.
"This was the killer experiment," said David Sinclair,
PhD, senior study author and genetics professor at Harvard Medical
School, in a press release. "There is no rational alternative
explanation other than resveratrol directly activates SIRT1 in cells.
Now that we know the exact location on SIRT1 where and how resveratrol
works, we can engineer even better molecules that more precisely and
effectively trigger the effects of resveratrol."
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