Age catches up with us all eventually, but in some people the right genes can make that chase into our twilight years a relatively leisurely one. A few years ago Italian researchers discovered something special about people who live well into their 90s and beyond: they commonly have a version of a gene called BPIFB4 that protects against cardiovascular damage and keeps the heart in good shape for a longer period of time.

By introducing the mutated gene into older mice, the scientists have now seen how the variant rewinds markers of biological heart aging by the equivalent of more than 10 human years. In middle-aged mice, the same therapy was shown to halt the decline of heart function.