They create a super-long-lived organism capable of surviving eight centuries

A team of biologists from the University of Southern California has just obtained a yeast that can live up to 800 years , multiplying its life expectancy by ten , with no apparent side effects. The formula for success has been a combination of genetic and dietary changes , according to gerontologist Valter Longo in an article to be published in the next issue of the journal PLOS Genetics .

Longo, who in 2005 already managed to develop organisms that lived six times longer than normal, affirms that if cells are forced to reach a state "of extreme survival ", reducing access to food, organisms become stronger and stronger. they are able to repair genetic defects that appear with age.

Now he hopes to be able to apply these advances to mice and, later, to humans. Of course, he warns, with great caution, since "mutations related to longevity tend to be accompanied by severe growth defects and other health problems in humans", as he himself has verified in his studies of certain populations in Ecuador that present mutations very similar to those of the new long-lived yeasts.