Researchers here cast doubt on nuclear DNA damage as a primary cause of decline in the stem cell population that is responsible for creating immune cells and blood cells. All cell populations accumulate random mutations in nuclear DNA over the course of aging. It is well proven that this causes a rise in cancer risk, though as noted in the paper here that isn't a simple linear relationship. The consensus position is that this damage also contributes to degenerative aging in the form of increased disarray in cell operations, but there is no solid evidence to demonstrate that this is in fact so, nor to show the degree to which it is a cause of aging in comparison to other forms of damage.
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