Clue to long life of women discovered

The mystery of long life of women has been decoded to an extent. The researchers have found a genetic clue related to it in a study carried out on fruit flies by British researchers.

The research findings published in the journal Current Biology, says that a set of DNA inherited from the mother can be harmful to males and it also speeds up male aging, a Xinhua report said on Friday.

Researchers of Lancaster University said that these findings to numerous mutations within mitochondrial DNA that affect how long males live, and speed at which they age.

Mitochondrial DNA, which is found in many species, including human, is inherited through the mother only.

So there is no evolution pressure from the male side to sieve out those mutations that are just harmful to male, the experiments on fruit flies has confirmed.

The unaffected females will continue to pass those mutations to their male offspring.

The congregation of those mutations could eventually result in the difference of longevity between male and female. This theory is referred as "Mother's Curse" by some researchers.

"We show that Mother's Curse is much broader in its effects on male life history than previously envisaged, resulting in the build-up of mutations that cause males to age faster, and live shorter lives than females," David Clancy of Lancaster University has been quotes as saying.

He further added that these findings could suggest a new forceful explanation to one of life's greatest puzzles - why the female of many species, including humans, live longer than their male counterparts.

In general women live five to six years longer than their male counterparts. By age 85 there are roughly six women to every four men and by age 100 the ration is more than two to one, says the study.

--with inputs from IANS