Elixir of life found (kind of): Add ten years to your life by drinking a protein cocktail, but only if you are a lab mouse

Researchers in Italy found that feeding a cocktail of three branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) - isoleucine, leucine and valine - to mice increased their lifespan and fitness. However, these findings have to be interpreted with care: First, it has been a small study with only thirty mice. Second, transferring findings from mice to humans is often very difficult. See article here.

A researcher holding a mouse cage in a research lab. (Credit: iStockphoto/Brandon Laufenberg)