What can whales, rodents—and one unusually spry lab mouse—teach us about aging well? A new study (funded by two U.S.-Israel BSF grants) reveals molecular clues that could one day help humans live not just longer, but healthier lives. @BIU_Aging @NIHAging 🔗https://t.co/mbe4Fuf5Nz https://t.co/XgAUH5jAVy (tw)

Shavuot may be around the corner—but when it comes to aging and longevity, it’s PHARAOH who’s stealing the spotlight. That’s PHARAOH, short for Predictive High-Accuracy Aging-Related Outcomes from Homology—a new computational tool developed by Prof. Haim Cohen of Bar-Ilan University, director of the Sagol Healthy Human Longevity Center. Backed by two BSF grants supporting his long-term U.S.-Israel collaboration with Prof. Rafael De Cabo of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), Cohen's latest study takes on one of biology’s big questions: why do some species age more slowly—and how do they manage to stay healthy into old age? To crack the code of longevity, the team turned to evolution—nature’s ultimate survival test. Using PHARAOH, they analyzed proteins from 107 mammals, from tiny rodents to century-old whales, and found subtle chemical tweaks that help long-lived species stay healthier for longer. These evolutionary signatures appear to guard against cancer, inflammation, and other age-related diseases. And yes, there’s even a mouse named Moses. To test one of PHARAOH’s findings, the team engineered him with elevated levels of SIRT6—a protein linked to longevity. Moses lives 30% longer than his peers and, despite being a bit chubby, stays healthy and energetic into old age. “Our findings offer a promising path toward understanding how protein modifications can protect against age-related diseases and promote longer, healthier lives,” says Cohen. The bigger goal? To extend not just lifespan, but healthspan—the number of years people can live free from disability and disease. By decoding nature’s own playbook for longevity, researchers like Cohen are helping to lay the foundation for therapies that support healthy aging in humans. This is what sustained U.S.-Israel scientific partnerships make possible: bold, curiosity-driven research that brings us closer to solving the most complex biological challenges of our time. 🔗 Read more here: https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-852472 👉 See study in Nature Communications: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-58762-x#Abs1 #BSFfunding #US_Israel #Collaboration #scienceresearch #ageing #barilanuniversity #medicine #lifescience (fb)