A drug has been discovered which scientists believe can reverse the effects of premature ageing and could extend human life by more than a decade.
Easter Island is one of the most remote places on Earth and found 2,000 miles off the coast of Chile Photo:
Rapamycin, which has been nicknamed the “forever young” drug, was created from a chemical found in the soil on Easter Island, one of the most remote places on Earth and 2,000 miles off the coast of Chile.
It was used in experiments on children suffering from Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS), a rare genetic condition in which ageing is hyper-accelerated and sufferers die of “old age” at around 12 years.
HGPS causes a dangerous process whereby a protein called progerin builds up in every cell of the body, causing them to age prematurely.
Rapamycin cleaned the cells of progerin, which swept away the defects and left healthy cells.
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