https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00355-z Skip to main content Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript. Advertisement Advertisement Nature * View all journals * Search * Log in * Explore content * About the journal * Publish with us * Subscribe * Sign up for alerts * RSS feed 1. nature 2. research highlights 3. article * RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT * 09 February 2023 How a tiny genetic change inflicts old age on young kids Scientists identify a molecule key to the development of progeria, a lethal disease that causes hyper-accelerated ageing. * Twitter * Facebook * Email A composite of six images showing Masson-stained aorta derived from mice. Mice with a version of the disease progeria have abnormal aortas (middle, top; detail middle, bottom). Mice treated with a newly developed molecule have aortas (right) similar to those of mice without the condition (left). Credit: N. Zhang et al./Nature Aging ( CC BY 4.0) Access through your institution Buy or subscribe Children with the rare disease progeria show signs of old age while they are still toddlers, and few survive past their teens. Now scientists have designed a molecule that extends the lives of mice genetically engineered to have progeria symptoms^1. Access options Access through your institution Access through your institution Change institution Buy or subscribe Subscribe to Nature+ Get immediate online access to Nature and 55 other Nature journal $29.99 monthly Subscribe Subscribe to Journal Get full journal access for 1 year $199.00 only $3.90 per issue Subscribe All prices are NET prices. VAT will be added later in the checkout. Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout. Buy article Get time limited or full article access on ReadCube. $32.00 Buy All prices are NET prices. Additional access options: * Log in * Learn about institutional subscriptions doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00355-z References 1. Zhang, N. et al. Nature Aging https://doi.org/10.1038/ s43587-023-00361-w (2023). 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