Eating 40 per cent less food could extend a person's life by 20 years, according to scientists。

科学家的研究表明，人类若少吃40%的食物，寿命可能会延长20年。

Researchers at the Institute of Health Ageing at University College London are developing a treatment they hope will combat the 'disease' of getting older。

伦敦大学学院健康老龄化研究所的研究人员正在研究一种治疗方式，希望可以和变老这种“疾病”做斗争。

They are looking into how genetics and lifestyle can be adapted to offset the effects of ageing and add years, possibly decades, to a person's life。

他们正在研究如何利用基因和生活方式来抵消衰老的影响，并把人的寿命延长几年，甚至几十年。

Age-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and neuro degeneration can also be combated, it is claimed。

研究人员表示，该研究期望还能治疗与年龄有关的疾病，例如心血管病、癌症和神经退行性疾病。

One line of inquiry that the team is developing is how the life of a rat can be increased by up to 30 per cent simply by reducing its food intake。

对该研究小组的调查表明，他们正在研究如何只通过减少食物的摄取量，来把老鼠的寿命延长30%。

Lead researcher Dr Piper told the Independent: 'If you reduce the diet of a rat by 40 per cent it will live for 20 or 30 per cent longer. So we would be talking 20 years of human life. This has shown on all sorts of organisms, even labradors.'

首席研究员派珀博士对《独立报》记者说：“如果你把一只老鼠的食物减少40%，它的寿命会增加20%或30%。对人类而言，相当于20年。减少饮食能延长寿命，对各种生物都有效，包括拉布拉多犬。”

The scientists are also studying fruit flies, which share 60 per cent of human genes and age in a similar manner, and mice。

科学家们也正在对果蝇和老鼠进行研究。 果蝇拥有60%的人类基因，和人类变老的方式也很相似。

They have already prolonged the healthy lifespan in both flies and mice by using drug treatments and a modified diet。

他们通过药物治疗和改良后的饮食，已经延长了果蝇和老鼠的寿命。

It is hoped that this combination will also work to extend human life。

他们希望药物治疗和饮食也能延长人类的寿命。

Dr Piper said: 'If we discover the genes involved with ageing, we should be able to delay ageing itself. This is what we've found.'

派珀博士说：“如果我们发现和变老相关的基因，我们应该能够延缓衰老的过程。这是我们目前所发现的。”

He added that his team has extended the life of organisms by mutating single genes。

他又补充道，他的研究小组通过单基因变异延长了生物体的寿命。

The researchers have also lessen the effects of a mutation which can cause Alzheimer's。

研究人员也弱化了基因变异可能导致老年痴呆症这一副作用。

However, Dr Piper cautioned that the field of research into extending life is only a decade old, so remains 'theoretical'。

然而，派珀博士谨慎地提到，科学家们对延长寿命的研究仅有十年之余，所以，延长人类寿命目前只是“理论性的”。

It is their unique approach to treating all age-related diseases as being caused by the 'disease' of ageing itself that sets their research apart, he said。

他们把和年龄相关的疾病看成是变老所带来的“疾病”，正是这种独一无二的方法让他们的研究有别于其他研究。