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The hypothalamus is a small structure located deep within the brain. It plays a critical role in controlling growth, reproduction and metabolism, but now it could hold the key to ageing too. A team of scientists in the US looked at this region of the brain in mice. They found that blocking a chemical in this area increased the animals' lifespan. Healthy mice typically live for between 600 to 1000 days. But the rodents in the study were living about a fifth longer without suffering from problems that are common in old age, such as muscle loss or memory problems. Conversely, when the scientists boosted the substance in the hypothalamus, the animal' s lifespan was shortened. The researchers now want to fully understand the biological mechanism behind this process. They say the work provide new insights into agerelated diseases, and in the future even raise the prospect of drugs that could increase our lifespan. |
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xià qiū nǎo shì dà nǎo shēn chù de yí gè hěn xiǎo de jié gòu. xià qiū nǎo duì shēng zhǎng shēng zhí jí xīn chén dài xiè jù yǒu zhì guān zhòng yào de kòng zhì zuò yòng, xiàn zài tā hái duì shuāi lǎo jù yǒu guān jiàn xìng de yì yì. měi guó de yī zǔ kē xué jiā guān chá le xiǎo shǔ dà nǎo zhōng de zhè gè qū yù. tā men fā xiàn zǔ duàn zhè yī qū yù de yī zhǒng huà xué chéng fèn néng gòu yán cháng dòng wù de shòu mìng. jiàn kāng xiǎo shǔ de shòu mìng dà zhì wèi 600 tiān zhì 1000 tiān. zài yán jiū zhōng, niè chǐ dòng wù de shēng cún shí jiān yán cháng le 20, bìng qiě méi yǒu nián lǎo de zhǒng zhǒng jī xiàng, rú jī ròu huó lì sàng shī jí jì yì wèn tí. xiāng fǎn, dāng kē xué jiā zēng jiā xià qiū nǎo zhōng zhè zhǒng wù zhì dì chéng fèn, dòng wù de shòu mìng jiù huì xiāng yìng suō duǎn. xiàn zài, yán jiū rén yuán xiǎng qīng chǔ zhè gè guò chéng bèi hòu de shēng wù xué jī zhì. tā men shuō zhè gōng zuò néng gòu wèi yǔ nián líng yǒu guān de jí bìng tí gōng xīn de jiàn jiě. zài wèi lái, shèn zhì kě yǐ yǒu yán cháng wǒ men shòu mìng yào wù de chū xiàn. |