Why do some people retain their youthful looks while others age terribly? Scientists think they have made a leap in knowledge towards finding that out.
Scientists, reporting in the journal Current Biology, found the first part of human DNA – the genetic code – that seems to affect how old people look to others.
The mutations were in the genetic instructions that protect the body from UV radiation. The are the same instructions that can also lead to red hair so the experts say that their results might be confused by confused by eye, skin or hair colour.
The BBC said the study into “perceived age” was organised by the Netherland’s Erasmus University Medical Centre.
Dr David Gunn, a senior scientist at the company, told the BBC perceived age was a phenomenon everyone was familiar with.
“You meet two people you haven’t seen for 10 years, and you happen to notice one doesn’t look a day older than you remember and then the other person you think ‘Wow what happened to them?’.”
