by Gretchen Reynolds – MSN & Washington Post –
Recently, scientists at Stanford University began to wonder why identical lab mice, bred with the same DNA and brought up in identical conditions, wound up so different in their old age.
Some mice could ace cognitive tests and race around on their running wheels. Others would forget simple tasks and hobble from place to place. Genetically, they remained indistinguishable, but their twilight years could hardly have been more distinct.
The scientists’ attempts to untangle what was going on inside these mice is redefining how we think about aging. It has opened up a new area of research into what scientists are calling “organ aging,” which looks at how different parts of our bodies seem to start aging earlier than others, affecting what diseases we develop and how long we live.
