The secrets of eternal youth are being unlocked by scientists

Experiments show that an enzyme called telomerase could be the key ingredient in an ‘elixir of life’.

Mice engineered, bred by Spain’s National Cancer Institute, lived up to 50 per cent longer the normal. They also had less fat, had better co-ordination and were better at processing sugar, this week’s New Scientist reports.

The research leader said that keeping levels of telomerase high could keep ageing at bay. The approach could one day be used to allow people to live longer, because the enzyme was capable of turning a normal, mortal cell into an immortal cell.

Her optimism is supported by US experiments which found that boosting telomerase levels in white blood cells makes them better at fighting disease.

Telomerase is extracted from the Astragalus plant, often used in Chinese medicines with no known adverse effects. It protects tiny bundles of DNA at the end of our chromosomes that get shorter and shorter as our cells divide. Eventually, they get so short that the cells die.

However, some safety concerns remain, because cancer cells produce telomerase at higher than normal rates.