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Longevity Gene Found

Posted by samzenpus on from the you're-older-than-you've-ever-been dept.

quixote9 writes "Calorie restriction while maintaining nutrient levels has long been known to dramatically increase life spans. Very different lab animals, from worms to mice, live up to 50% longer (or even more) on the restricted diets. However, so far, nobody has been able to figure out how this works. Scientists at the Salk Institute have found a specific gene in worms (there's a very similar one in people) that is directly involved in the longevity effect. That opens up the interesting possibility that doctors may someday be able to activate that gene directly and we can live long and prosper . . . without giving up chocolate."

8 of 358 comments (clear)

  1. People demand it by ch-chuck · · Score: 5, Funny

    Give me immortality, or give me death!

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  2. Retirement age.. by rf0 · · Score: 4, Funny

    If we do live longer to say 150 and you retire at say 70 would you really want to spend 80 years doing nothing..

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  3. Gene sequence in hex is... by Bob54321 · · Score: 5, Funny

    09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0

    (That is going to hurt my karma but I am still no bored of that joke...)

    (OK, maybe a little over it)

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  4. tinfoil response by u-bend · · Score: 5, Funny

    How long do we really want these worms to live? Till they become sentient long-lived invertebrate overlords?

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    u-bend
    1. Re:tinfoil response by u-bend · · Score: 3, Funny

      I was just thinking that if we work on their size too, maybe they'll start producing spice and then space exploration will start getting really interesting.

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      u-bend
  5. They all got it wrong by aadvancedGIR · · Score: 5, Funny

    Healthy food does not prolonge life, it just make it seem so long and boring you want to die.

  6. Re:Who would want to live forever? by tomhudson · · Score: 4, Funny

    3 men in an old-age home were comparing notes.

    The 70-year-old said that he needs to go to the toilet first thing in the morning, and it takes him 10 minutes just to get out of bed, and another half-hour in the can, so he has to get up at 6:30 if he's going to make it for breakfast at 7:00

    The 80-year-old said "You think that's bad? It takes me half an hour to get out of bed, and an HOUR in the toilet, so I have to get up at 5:30 in the morning if I'm going to eat breakfast at 7:00. Heck, I have to take half a viagra so I don't end up pissing on my slippers!

    The 90-year-old says "You young'uns ... I wake up at 6:55, have a piss, take a shit, and I'm all done by 7:00 ... then I have breakfast, while they change my sheets."

  7. Great.... by Wookietim · · Score: 3, Funny

    Oh great, now George W. Bush will live forever! The survivors will envy the dead.

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