Gene Linked To Age Perception Discovered

photo credit: Aging is thought to be a mixture of genetic and environmental factors. Evgeny Atamanenko/Shutterstock

by Josh L Davis

We all know that even when people are exactly the same age, some of us look older than we actually are, and some of us younger. Many of these differences can be attributed to lifestyle choices and behavior, from smoking to sitting in the sunshine for too long, but what about the role of genetics? A new study, published in Current Biology, claims to have found a single gene that can influence whether or not someone is perceived to be older by up to two years.

The study, carried out by scientists in the Netherlands, involved looking at photographs of close to 2,700 people and estimating their ages, before then trawling through the subjects' genetics to search for any similarities. Surprisingly, they found that those carrying two copies of a variant of the gene in question, MC1R, were perceived to be up to two years older, while those carrying a single copy were seen as being one year older than they actually were, as opposed to those not carrying this variant. Interestingly, this gene is more commonly known for being involved in giving people ginger hair and pale skin. 

“Discovering this first gene involved in perceived age is important, because it opens the door for identifying more, which we know exist, and we now know are possible to find,” said Professor Manfred Kayser from the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, and co-author of the study, in a statement. “Our finding marks another step in understanding aging differences between people and provides new leads to identify the molecular links between perceived age, chronological age, and biological age.”

The MC1R gene is already known to be involved with the making of melanin and skin protection from UV, which would seem to be the mechanism that could potentially make anyone who has it appear older. But the researchers write that for the study they took into account the aging effects of skin color, wrinkles, and sun exposure, which would imply that the gene is acting in some other, currently unknown fashion.

While many other experts have commented that this finding may not be the fountain of youth, they have also conceded that the findings are of interest. “MC1R has been genetically associated with UV-induced skin damage, skin features like pigmentation, freckles and age spots, and with skin cancer,” João Pedro de Magalhães, a researcher of aging at Liverpool University, told The Guardian. “So it is perhaps not surprising that this gene plays a role in perceived age.”

The main question now is whether or not MC1R genuinely does affect aging, or just how pale someone’s skin is, and thus their perceived age. In addition to that, another expert not involved with the research has suggested that perhaps the study was measuring not the perceived age of the subjects, but the psychology and bias of the people doing the judging.

Whether or not the finding could be of significance is still unknown, with Professor Tim Frayling from the University of Exeter telling BBC News that, “whilst interesting, the authors admit that they need to find more genetic variation to have any chance of predicting someone’s appearance from DNA alone.” 

BUZZING TRAPS COULD FIGHT THE PEST THAT'S KILLING FLORIDA'S ORANGES

A Citrus Psyllid adult

USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab via Flickr

TALKIN' 'BOUT GOOD VIBRATIONS

By Lindsey Kratochwill

When I was growing up in Florida, we were often overburdened by the bounty of citrus growing in neighbors' and family members' yards. But it's an entirely different story now. When I go home to visit, there's talk of the orange and grapefruit trees producing tiny bitter fruits, and eventually dying. The problem goes beyond my own selfish citrus consumption, though. It's been estimated that the state of Florida has lost about $3.63 billion in revenue from orange juice between 2006 and 2012. The culprit? A tiny insect known as the Asian citrus psyllid, and more specifically, the bacteria it spreads, known asCandidatus Liberibacter asiaticus.

The bacteria causes the disease known as citrus greening, making the trees to produce smaller, bitter fruit. There's currently no cure for it, and the trees will die within a few years. That's why researchers at the USDA and the University of Florida are trying to find a way to stop the pests from hanging out in citrus groves in the first place. Instead of mixing up a pesticide, they've decided to harness the power of vibrations.

In-lab setup of the device used to mimic citrus pests' mating calls

Mankin/USDA

This trap, of sorts, has a piezoelectric buzzer and a microphone that's wired to an Arduino microcontroller. The microphone picks up the male insect's mating vibrations shaking nearby leaves and branches. That prompts the piezoelectric buzzer to mimic the response of a female psyllid. The male, enticed by the sound will then get snagged in a sticky trap.

"The route I'm trying to take is looking at disrupting mating and putting out signals that either outcompete the females and bring males to a trapping system, or just make it difficult for males and females to communicate with each other," Richard Mankin, a research entomologist at the USDA said in a press release.

Mankin has turned to acoustic interventions in the past, using them to find rice weevils hidden inside grain kernels. And while this method for capturing psyllids in citrus groves still needs more field research, it could be a cost-effective way to cut down on disease. The research is being presented at themeeting of the American Acoustical Society this week in Jacksonville, Florida.

https://tinyurl.com/52khzcym

MICROBES ARE PARTLY TO BLAME FOR ARCTIC’S MELTING PERMAFROST

By Mary Beth Griggs

Qajaa Archaeological Site, Greenland

Bo Elberling

One of the best preserved settlements in the region, dating back to 4,000 BC is under threat from climate change

The whole idea behind the term permafrost, is that it is a permanently frozen layer of soil. Perma = Permanent, Frost = Brrr. Perma + Frost = You aren't getting warm again anytime soon. But in Greenland, that equation is starting to look a little less definitive. With temperatures on the rise in the Arctic, permafrost is melting, and scientists might have just found something that could make it all worse.

Microbes. Rising temperatures were always going to deal a huge blow to permafrost in the Arctic, but adding insult to injury, a new paper published inNature Climate Change shows that microbes might accelerate the loss of permafrost by the year 2100.

Because permafrost is so cold, it has a lot of organic matter that just never breaks down, because microbes can't get to it. When the permafrost starts to thaw, microbes move in, breaking down the organic matter. The process of breaking down the organic matter produces heat, the heat melts more permafrost, and the cycle continues melting downward.

This is terrible for a few reasons, most prominently: archaeology and climate change.

Unlike China or Egypt, Greenland isn't exactly known for its archaeology, but it does have some of the best-preserved evidence of human occupation in the Arctic, with sites like Qajaa (seen above) dating back thousands of years. These sites often feature settlements and garbage heaps. They're not as pretty as more elaborate sites, but are still incredibly valuable sources of information for archeologists, containing details about the diet, environment, and culture of the people who lived there before. Because Greenland is so remote, many sites haven't been fully documented or explored. As the permafrost melts, the artifacts will decay faster, meaning a clock is ticking for archaeologists to get to them.

The second, more urgent aspect of this finding is the fact that huge amounts of carbon are trapped in organic matter the Arctic permafrost. When microbes eat that organic matter from long-dead plants and animals, the microbes produce carbon dioxide--a greenhouse gas with the potential to raise temperatures even more. The amount by which the microbes affect the permafrost varied by area, but in some places the change was dramatic. In one location, Disko Bay, the researchers found that without accounting for the microbes, the area would lose between one and five kilograms of carbon per square meter of permafrost, but when they accounted for the microbes, that number skyrocketed to between 20 and 52 kilograms of carbon per square meter.