EAT CHOCOLATE AND DRINK RED WINE!

We know that research suggests that the keys to happiness are a good diet, exercise, sleep, sunlight, social interactions and fun and laughter. Nothing there I haven't been telling people for years, but my list would also include red wine and dark chocolate...

It is really encouraging to read that a compound in dark chocolate and red wine could help rejuvenate cells, according to a scientific breakthrough. Researchers from the Universities of Exeter and Brighton have made the sizeable breakthrough on ageing and discovered a way to rejuvenate cells.

They found that they could make the cells both look and behave like younger cells. Previous research by the University of Exeter had found that a class of genes called splicing factors are progressively switched off as we age. But the new study found that they could switch the cells back on. The researchers hope that the breakthrough could lead to therapies that help people age better and without many of degenerative problems people encounter as we get older.

Professor Lorna Harries, Professor of Molecular Genetics at the University of Exeter, said: “This is a first step in trying to make people live normal lifespans, but with health for their entire life. Our data suggests that using chemicals to switch back on the major class of genes that are switched off as we age might provide a means to restore function to old cells.” Harries went on to explain that the research proves that the cells can be treated to regain some features of youth.

Dr Eva Latorre, Research Associate at the University of Exeter, who carried out the experiments was surprised by the extent and rapidity of the changes in the cells. “When I saw some of the cells in the culture dish rejuvenating I couldn’t believe it. These old cells were looking like young cells. It was like magic. I repeated the experiments several times and in each case the cells rejuvenated. I am very excited by the implications and potential for this research.”