Study identifies gene linked to long life

Scientists have known that mice, dogs, fruit flies and other animals given diets bordering on starvation tend to live up to 40 per cent longer than their better-fed cousins. Now they have identified a gene in roundworms that directly links calorie restriction to longer lifespan.

The researchers said a gene called pha-4 plays a role in gut development in embryonic worms but in adults is associated with calorie-restricted longevity. People have three genes very much like the worm’s pha-4. They are related to glucagon, a pancreatic hormone that increases blood sugar concentration and maintains the body’s energy balance, particularly during fasting, they said.

Pinpointing the worm gene might open the door to drugs that imitate the effects of calorie restriction and could allow people to live longer without following such a severely restrictive diet, the researchers report in this week’s issue of the journal Nature.