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Gene 'pill' could help people live to be a hundred By Ben Fenton in Washington (Filed: 28/08/2001)

SCIENTISTS who studied the genetic make-up of dozens of centenarians said yesterday that they have taken the first step towards creating a pill to make people live longer.

More than 500 years after the Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon searched the coast of Florida looking for the legendary fountain of youth, American geneticists believe they have found the blueprint of a healthy long life.

Researchers at Harvard University and two Boston hospitals studied the genes of 137 people aged 98 or more, and their siblings, and concluded that chromosome number 4 almost certainly harbours the key to longevity.

In all cases, the people in the study were not only very old, but also active, in good health and so able to enjoy the benefits of living much longer than most people.

The scientists published their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences yesterday.

The doctors say that there are between 250 and 500 genes in the area of the chromosome that they have identified, but are hopeful that they will find the right one. Its discovery could in turn provide a "pill" to extend life well beyond its current average span, they said.

"We're in hot pursuit of that gene," said Dr Tom Peris of Harvard. "We're not trying to find the fountain of youth. If anything, we're trying to find the fountain of ageing well."

The study on ageing began when scientists became intrigued by the fact that many of those who lived to be the oldest in their communities or their countries had not led particularly healthy lifestyles.

Jeanne Calment, who was documented as the oldest person in history when she died in 1997 aged 122, was a life-long smoker.

That suggested that genetic, as well as lifestyle and environmental factors predisposed people to long lives.

Dr Annibale Puca, another researcher on the project, had met a family in Boston in which there were surviving siblings of 97, 103 and 108. Two others had died after reaching three figures and he set out to find more examples.

A family in New England included eight of 10 siblings over the age of 90. The odds against that happening by chance were less than one in 10 trillion.

-- Anonymous, August 27, 2001

Answers

Believe it or not, I'm not absolutely sure that I want to live to be 100 or older, especially if I'm not absolutely finacially secure and living in a desirable place. I mean, think of it: would I want to be 100, living in an elder care center that smelled of disinfectants and was staffed by obnoxious nurse aids who'd sooner see the residents dead? Or what about having to share a room with a woman who honestly believes that the occasional fly that gets into our room is actually an alien sent to torture her and take out her eyes? No thanks.

A lot of people like to picture their retirement as endless hours on the beach or golf course. It takes money to live in a resort area, and green's fees aren't cheap. That's why I'm always keeping my retirement in mind, now. I have a sinking feeling that many in my generation won't be able to afford to retire. We'll be working in the grease pits and dumpster diving as long as our bodies hold up, and when they fail, we'll duct tape them together. . . . .

-- Anonymous, August 28, 2001

My nearest and dearest are under orders to warehouse me in a New Orleans nursing home, where they understand eccentric old gits who goose the male attendants while emitting a maniacal cackle. I'm transferring to tape the albums I have and collecting from yard and estate sales CDs and tapes of the Stones, Pink Floyd, ELO, etc., so that I shall be VERY popular. The Hungarian is collecting suitable videos for the same reason. We intend to be the terrors of the nursing home. I mean, if you're going to do something, do it well, ya know?

-- Anonymous, August 28, 2001

Heck, I'm going to your nursing home, then. I'm sure you'll forever change things there, for the better.

I dunno. By the time I get ready to need one, they'll either be too expensive or possibly non-existant because of WWWIII.

-- Anonymous, August 28, 2001