DNA repair boosters eye longevity: nature’s clues to longer health
Researchers are pursuing ways to slow aging by boosting DNA repair, inspired by long-lived species like bowhead whales and naked mole rats and by centenarian genetics. The repair system is complex and multi-pathway, with trade-offs and cancer risks if misregulated. Promising leads include the DREAM complex as a master regulator of repair (targetable via DYRK1A inhibition), SIRT6 variants linked to longer lifespans, and fucoidans that activate SIRT6 and improve DNA repair in mice; a human trial on fucoidans is underway. While exciting, the approach remains experimental and not yet proven in people.