Molecular aging research has advanced substantially in recent years through genomics and proteomics approaches, particularly their application to understanding aging in various model organisms. High-throughput screens for mutations that extend lifespan in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Caenorhabditis elegans, and Drosophila melanogaster were successful in highlighting that deletion or attenuation of single genes can result in substantial lifespan extensions [8]. For example, the most intensively studied aging-related gene in C. elegans is daf-2, an insulin/IGF receptor [9], [10]. Reduction of daf-2 signaling in mutant worms leads to a doubling of mean lifespan [11]. Mutations in the daf-2 homologs of Drosophila and mice showed an 80% and 30% increase in lifespan, respectively [12], [13].
