Editing Senescence (section)

====DNA damage====

[[DNA damage (naturally occurring)|DNA damage]] was proposed in a 2021 review to be the underlying cause of aging because of the mechanistic link of DNA damage to nearly every aspect of the aging phenotype.<ref name="Schumacher2021">{{Cite journal |last1=Schumacher |first1=Björn |last2=Pothof |first2=Joris |last3=Vijg |first3=Jan |last4=Hoeijmakers |first4=Jan H. J. |date=April 2021 |title=The central role of DNA damage in the ageing process |journal=Nature |volume=592 |issue=7856 |pages=695–703 |doi=10.1038/s41586-021-03307-7 |pmc=9844150 |pmid=33911272|bibcode=2021Natur.592..695S }}</ref>  Slower rate of accumulation of [[DNA damage (naturally occurring)|DNA damage]] as measured by the DNA damage marker gamma H2AX in leukocytes was found to correlate with longer lifespans in comparisons of [[dolphin]]s, [[goat]]s, [[reindeer]], [[American flamingo]]s and [[Eurasian griffon vulture|griffon vultures]].<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Whittemore K, Martínez-Nevado E, Blasco MA |title=Slower rates of accumulation of DNA damage in leukocytes correlate with longer lifespans across several species of birds and mammals |journal=Aging (Albany NY) |volume=11 |issue=21 |pages=9829–45 |date=November 2019 |pmid=31730540 |pmc=6874430 |doi=10.18632/aging.102430 }}</ref>  DNA damage-induced [[epigenetics|epigenetic]] alterations, such as [[DNA methylation]] and many [[histone]] modifications, appear to be of particular importance to the aging process.<ref name = Schumacher2021/> Evidence for the theory that DNA damage is the fundamental cause of aging was first reviewed in 1981.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gensler |first1=H. L. |last2=Bernstein |first2=H. |date=September 1981 |title=DNA damage as the primary cause of aging |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7031747/ |journal=The Quarterly Review of Biology |volume=56 |issue=3 |pages=279–303 |doi=10.1086/412317 |pmid=7031747|s2cid=20822805 }}</ref>