Turn off Netflix and take the stairs: let’s aim to die healthy rather than just live longer | Robin Mckie

Research helping mice reach a ripe old age is of little use to humans if it boosts longevity but not healthspans

Prospects for extending lifespans have generated some striking headlines in recent weeks. Tantalising drug lets mice live longer but retain youthful looks," the Times announced. Anti-ageing drug is holy grail' of cancer fight," claimed the Telegraph.

Nor is the agent of this media adulation - antibodies that block the action of the inflammatory chemical IL-11 - the only wonder anti-ageing medication to make news over the past few months. In March, researchers announced that, by properly balancing two types of immune cells, they had managed to improve the ability of elderly mice to fight off viral infections and so live longer. This came on top of research last year from another group revealing they had used injections of the drugs dasatinib and quercetin to rejuvenate the hearts of mice and make them less frail.