- guardian.co.uk, Monday March 26 2007 14.54 BST
- The Guardian, Monday March 26 2007
The following correction was printed in the Guardian's Corrections and clarifications column, Tuesday March 27 2007
In the report below we said, correctly, that an isotope of an element was produced by altering the number of neutrons in its nucleus. We then went on to say, incorrectly, that "Whereas hydrogen has one neutron, deuterium ... has two." The hydrogen nucleus has no neutrons. It consists of one proton. The deuterium nucleus has one proton and one neutron.
Fortifying food with specially developed proteins could make our bodies more resistant to the ageing process, according to a former Oxford University scientist.
Steaks and chicken fillets laced with rare, heavy forms of elements - "isotope-enhanced" proteins - could strengthen cells and protect them against oxidation, caused by highly-reactive particles, free radicals, that are released in the body as a by-product of biological processes in our cells. Many researchers believe free-radical oxidation is a major cause of ageing.
In small-scale studies, Mikhail Shchepinov found nematode worms - used extensively in ageing research - lived 10% longer when fed nutrients enriched with a heavy isotope of hydrogen, deuterium. An isotope of an element is produced by altering the number of neutrons in its nucleus. Whereas hydrogen has one neutron, deuterium, or heavy hydrogen, has two.
The research is untested in larger animals and many previous attempts to achieve large lifespan extensions have failed to work in rodents and other animals. Many have resulted in an increase in cancer risk.
Dr Shchepinov believes the heavy isotopes extend lifespan by making bonds within the delicate molecules inside and around our cells harder to break. "Because these bonds are so much more stable, it should be possible to slow down the process of oxidation and ageing," he said.
In the journal Rejuvenation Research, Dr Shchepinov calls for studies to investigate his proposal by making food containing enhanced versions of the crucial building blocks of life, such as amino acids, nucleic acids and fats called lipids, from heavy forms of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen.
The idea received a mixed reception from scientists in the field. Some point out that deuterium is toxic in moderate quantities, while others said it would be almost impossible to eat the right amount of fortified food to have a beneficial effect. Aubrey de Grey, editor of Rejuvenation Research, accepted the proposal was tentative, but said it was too early to dismiss it out of hand. "It remains to be seen whether it can be the source of practicable therapies, but it is a prospect that certainly cannot be ruled out," he said.
Dr Shchepinov has left Oxford University and set up a company, Retrotope, to commercialise the idea.
Nick Bostrum, director of the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University, told the Royal Society of Chemistry: "I don't expect this method to furnish the elixir of life. Don't stop eating your vegetables just yet."
