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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Old age’s hallmarks are delayed in dieting rats

Cutting rodents’ caloric intake slows cellular changes that normally set in with time.
Colour-enhanced transmission electron micrograph of a lymphocyte (a type of white blood cell) from a rat.

A low-calorie diet prevents lymphocytes (pictured; artificially coloured) and other inflammatory cells from building up in the tissues of ageing rats. Credit: David M. Phillips/SPL

Diets are no fun, but they can provide benefits beyond weight loss. Researchers have found that cutting rats’ food intake reverses many signs of old age, such as the accumulation of inflammatory cells in various tissues.

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Nature 579, 10 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-00544-0

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