Mice live longer — and seem to age more slowly — if they express lower levels of a cancer-promoting protein called MYC.

High levels of MYC favour tumour growth, but some expression of the protein is required for survival. John Sedivy of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and his colleagues studied the effects of low MYC expression in mice. Mice with only one copy of the Myc gene lived 15% longer than those with two copies of the gene, although development and reproduction in the two groups were the same.

Mice with a single copy of Myc had a faster metabolism, and less severe age-related conditions such as osteoporosis or the thickening of the heart tissue.

Cell http://doi.org/znb (2015)