Genes are starting to show up in the medical news in abundance these days, and MIT researchers said this past week that a gene already associated with longer life span may also be linked to a lower cholesterol levels in the body as well.

The gene was connected to a pathway that clears cholesterol from the body, and the researchers stated that this finding could pave the way for more effective drugs that lower the risk of diseases like atherosclerosis (clogged arteries).

The identified gene, called SIRT1, causes 'good' cholesterol (the HDL kind) to actually flush away bad cholesterol buildup by using a 'cellular pathway' as the activating mechanism.