Study finds vgll3 CRISPR boosts growth yet shortens killifish lifespan
Scientists just found that the vgll3 gene is a big deal for how African turquoise killifish grow and age.
By tweaking this gene with CRISPR, the fish grew faster and hit maturity sooner, but they also developed more tumors and didn't live as long.
This supports the idea that what helps you early in life can hurt you later (yep, it's called antagonistic pleiotropy).
vgll3 linked to human puberty
The vgll3 gene also has been linked to when humans hit puberty, though we're still figuring out exactly how.
The research team wants to see if we can separate the "grow fast" perks from the "age faster" downsides, potentially helping us understand aging and diseases better.
As geneticist Itamar Harel puts it, evolution tends to pick short-term wins (like reproducing early) over living longer.