Strain of Mice Bred to Show Signs of Old Age Within 2-Month Life Span

Japanese scientists have created a strain of mice that race through life and develop, while still young, many of the ills of old age seen in humans--all caused by just one flawed gene they called “klotho,” after the Greek goddess who spun the thread of life. The mice should give new clues to the riddle of aging.

By the time a klotho mouse ends its shortened life, the team reports today in Nature, it has developed abnormalities that resemble hardening of the arteries, osteoporosis and emphysema. Its fur is sparse, and its skin is thin. It takes short steps. The mouse gradually becomes less and less active until it dies around the age of 2 months, rather than the normal 2 or 3 years. No other kind of mouse gets this collection of problems, no matter how long it lives.