Exactly. Maybe the mutation that helps the stem cells accumulate also helps them survive fasting. But fasting is a cheap and relatively safe way to perturb the

Exactly. Maybe the mutation that helps the stem cells accumulate also helps them survive fasting. But fasting is a cheap and relatively safe way to perturb the cells and see what happens. I think a good first step would be to track down people who regularly practice prolonged fasting, and then find people who match them as closely as possible on all other biometrics. We could then take blood samples and compare the prevalence of the CHIP mutation in their white blood cells. If there's a significant difference then it would be worth further investigation.