Experts have uncovered a new way to possibly slow down the ageing process and it’s not what you would expect.
Scientists have been studying a specific animal to learn hidden elements that could help to slow down human ageing and increase life expectancy for people around the world.
In the US, women are expected to live until they’re 80.2 while men have a lower expectancy of 74.8, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But now, researchers believe the tables might be about to turn as a new way to put a halt to ageing is now in the works.
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A research team based in Budapest have discovered parts of our DNA which are able to destabilize the genetic codes that age us.
Experiments on worms to learn more about it have been conducted by the team, led by Dr Ádám Sturm and Dr Tibor Vellai, from Eötvös Loránd University.
During the tests, the group looked at parts of our DNA known as transposable elements (TEs).
These TEs - more commonly referred to as the ‘jumping gene’ - can move around in our genetic code.
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If there’s too much movement, then our genetic code can become unstable and cell function can be disrupted - thus, leading to ageing.
Interestingly though, research has found there are some cells that do not age, including cancer stem cells.
Dr Sturm and Dr Vellai have previously released a paper where they discussed the process at work in cancer stem cells, its pathway and how it could assist with the concept of ‘immortality’.
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Now, they’ve taken their research to the next level.
In the study, the team sought to strengthen the pathway in a worm by using techniques to ‘downregulate’ the activity of the TEs.
Unbelievably, the results showed that the worms were in fact ageing slower than before.
When the researchers controlled multiple TEs simultaneously, the effects multiplied to increase the worm’s lifespan by a whopping 30%.
Commenting on the findings, Dr Sturm said: “In our lifespan [experiments], by merely downregulating TEs or somatically overexpressing the Piwi-piRNA pathway elements, we observed a statistically significant lifespan advantage.
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“This opens the door to a myriad of potential applications in the world of medicine and biology.”
This study could work to inform scientists on ways to extend life and improve the health of humans in their later years.
On this subject, Dr Vellai said: “This epigenetic modification may pave the way for a method to determine age from DNA, providing an accurate biological clock.”
If effective on humans, the study on worms could help us to live longer and may even be the answer to immortality.