older man running (Photo : Reuters)
A team of scientists from the United States, Great Britain, Israel, and New Zealand has learned that some people can stop or reverse the normal aging process while they are in their 30s. After measuring the effects of aging in almost 1,000 men and women during a 12-year period, they made the incredible discovery that three of the participants showed no signs of an older age.
The three people had biologically aged zero years and even started to look younger. They had found the "fountain of youth."
Some of the study participants had cheated the normal aging process. However, other subjects biologically aged three years for every calendar year, according to Zee News.
The study on aging tracked 954 people from Dunedin, a city in New Zealand, for several years. The researchers developed a new measure to evaluate how worn out the subjects' bodies were on the inside.
Using their new assessment system, the researchers discovered that some of the 38- year-olds had bodies like 60. Others were eight years "younger" than their actual age. In fact, three of the participants had not "aged" during the test period, according to IOL.
Other tests checked how old people's exterior appeared. They showed that the participants who were older on the inside also looked older to others who tried to guess their age.
General disease prevention slows down aging. In addition, intelligent people seem to stay young, as a healthy mind might be a result of a healthy body.
The researchers noted that a future study could discover the key to the three volunteers who became physiologically younger during their 30s. They might discover behavioral and molecular paths to becoming "younger."
Genes seem to play a big role in staying young. Researchers could pinpoint the ones that affect the aging process, which could result in the development of new anti-aging drugs.
The new study's findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science journal.
