How Do We Repair the Irreparable?

Morten Scheibye-Knudsen, Associate Professor at the Center for Healthy Aging at University of Copenhagen, asks how can we repair the irreparable? DNA is the foundation of information storage in living organisms. As we age, we accumulate DNA damage. Premature aging diseases are often associated with defects in DNA repair. Furthermore, the effectiveness of DNA repair processes seem to correlate with rates of aging. While it’s sometimes possible to attenuate the phenotypes of aging, the underlying damage – DNA damage – is not changed. How can we fix the blueprint? What can we do to slow or reverse damage at the level of the gene?