Scientists find gene that grants long life – and successfully test it on another species

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Scientists have successfully transferred a gene linked to longevity from naked mole rats to mice, an advance that has led to improved health and an extension of the mouse’s lifespan. The new study, published recently in the journal Nature, introduced a specific gene responsible for enhanced cellular repair in mole rats into mice, leading to a nearly 5 per cent increase in average lifespan and overall improved health. Scientists successfully introduced into mice a gene responsible for making high molecular weight hyaluronic acid – a molecule responsible for naked mole rats’ unusual resistance to cancer. In the new research, scientists genetically modified mice to produce the naked mole rat version of the hyaluronan synthase 2 gene – responsible for making a protein that produces HMW-HA.