A test on lab mice may have helped scientists in California debunk a certain theory
A group of scientists in the US might have uncovered the reason why women tend to outlive men, and it may be attributed to a single specific gene rejuvenating the female brain.
This gene is something we’re all born with, the X chromosome – naturally, men possess X and Y chromosomes, whereas females have two Xs.
A research study could have disproved a theory that the additional X chromosome in female genetics is inactive (Getty stock)
While both X and Y chromosomes are utilized in men, it has been traditionally believed that only one X chromosome is functional in the female body, with the other often considered inactive.
A study may have debunked a theory that the second X chromosome that makes up the female genetics is vacant (Getty stock)
Nevertheless, researchers from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) think they may have possibly refuted that theory.
That ‘inactive’ chromosome settles into a segment of a cell referred to as the ‘Barr body’, where it cannot activate many genes, but tests on laboratory mice suggest it may not be as dispensable as initially thought.
Researchers found that in older female mice (approximately 65 in human years), this dormant X chromosome begins to awaken and express specific genes that support the brain in remaining robust and functioning efficiently.
The study may have uncovered the reason why women live longer than men (Getty stock)
“In typical aging, women have a brain that presents as younger, with fewer cognitive deficits in comparison to men,” remarked the lead author of the study, Dr. Dena Dubal – a neurology professor and chair in Aging and Neurodegenerative Disease at UCSF.