To live longer, mix with the young
Longevity may be linked with time spent with members of the younger generation, according to an animal study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
It also provides insights into the treatment of age-dependent diseases in humans.
Researchers at the University of Iowa studied the behaviour of a mutated short-living version of fruit flies (Sod flies), that were placed in a vial with younger non-mutant flies.
They also paired older mutant fruit flies with younger mutant flies in separate vials.
They found that the mutant flies raised with the younger control flies, lived twice as long as mutants housed with other mutants.
Subsequent testing also showed that the mutants housed with their younger, longer-lived relatives had improved physical responses and better survived environmental stresses, compared to fruit flies that remained among the mutant population.
This could have implications for human health, since the enzymatic mutation in the insect’s genetic code mirrors deficits in diseases such as Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s Diseases.
“This study shows that the lifespan of Sod flies is plastic and can be conditioned by social interactions, corroborating the enduring notion that human patients of certain age-dependent neurological diseases, may be benefited by an appropriate social environment,” the authors write.
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