Scientific American has an article on recent DNA repair research that is more clear on the point being made the scientists involved: ''Do we get old due to the accumulation of damage over our lifetimes or due to the genetic blueprint we inherit? ... What we say is [that] both are valid and that, in particular, damage to DNA contributes to aging. ...

(From PhysOrg.com). What does DNA damage and change in DNA repair mechanisms contribute to aging? There are several camps in this debate; understandably, progeria researchers feel that it is an important factor: ''These progeroid mice, even though they do not live very long, have remarkably similar characteristics to normal old mice, from their ...

A new finding on DNA repair and aging is reporting at ScienceDaily: ''cells in young fruit flies make use of a different mix of molecular DNA-repair mechanisms compared to cells in older flies. ... the reproductive cells of young flies tend to use the rough-and-ready repair processes that do not involve extensive DNA synthesis and do not require a ...