HERE’S SOME POTENTIAL GOOD NEWS on the longevity front:

Studies have shown that severe calorie restriction markedly extends lifespan in mice and many other species – but the reasons for this remained elusive.

But now US research on nematode worms, published in Nature, has uncovered a gene linked to this unusual effect.

In the future, the find could lead to drugs that mimic the consequences of calorie restriction but negate the need for severe fasting regimes.

These metabolic treatments aren’t the Holy Grail of life-extension research — actually repairing or reversing the damage involved in aging is the real goal — but they could be very useful, and may come first. Plus, any success will spur further research, and research money.