Antibiotics could be the key to a longer and more energetic life, scientists have claimed.
A team of researchers found that if the drugs are given to worms at certain points in their development, they could increase their lifespan by 60 per cent and gave them superior endurance and energy.
They believe the results can be replicated in mice in the lab and theoretically in other mammals including humans.
Johan Auwerx, from the Swiss Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, who carried out the study, said: “This research gives us hope not only for increasing longevity, but also for lengthening the period of adult vitality, and doing this with simple drugs such as antibiotics.”
The research, published in the Journal Nature, analysed decoded mice genomes and identified a group of three genes which were “suppressed” – producing less of a particular protein – in mice that had lived significantly longer than others.
The scientists then replicated this in nematode worms at an early stage in their development, resulting in the average life span leaping from 19 days to more than 30 days.
The treated worms were also more energetic, with better muscle tone, the study showed.
When they reached maturity after 13 days they were moving around twice as much as the untreated worms.
Laurent Mouchiroud, co-author of the study, said that the difference was even more pronounced after 20 days, because the untreated control worms “were often already in bad shape”.
The scientists found longevity was linked to mitochondrial ribosomal proteins (MRPs), with less of the protein leading to a longer life.
This could be achieved using certain types of antibiotics, avoiding the need for genetic engineering, the team found.
But there were some drawbacks.
The researchers found they could only improve juvenile worms, as using antibiotics on worms already in adulthood had no effect on how long they lived.
Those given the antibiotics early in life, when still larvae, developed more slowly and were more lethargic early in life and laid less eggs.
“This reminded us of the vaguely flu-like state one gets right after the administration of a vaccine,” Monchiroud said.
“But... the potential for increased longevity remained after the treatment phase.”
They called for further studies to test the effects of antibiotic treatment on the development and lifespan of mammals.