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Every animal ages: Vitality flags, and eventually death comes. Aging has seemed both inevitable and immutable. Yet, for 70 years, we have known that severe restriction of caloric intake can extend the vitality and lifespan of many animals.
About 15 years ago, armed with new molecular biological tools, investigators began the search to identify the biochemical changes that connect caloric restriction to vitality. Enzymes called sirtuins — present in all animals, including humans — appear to be important. Three years ago, resveratrol, a molecule produced in plants, was found to activate sirtuins just as caloric restriction does and thereby extended the lifespan of yeast (Journal Watch Sep 23 2003). Resveratrol has also been shown to enhance vi…