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A visiting American research scientist says he is close to discovering a 'cure' for ageing, that he could have a drug ready for testing by the end of next year.
Molecular Biologist Dr Bill Andrews told TV ONE's SUNDAY programme that humans shouldn't have to suffer from the ravages of ageing. He says that ageing is a disease that should, and could be cured.
His research centres around Telomeres - small caps at the end of our chromosomes that become shorter every time our cells divide.
When they become critically short, we age and eventually die.
Dr Andrews believes that he can find a small molecule that will trigger the production of Telomerase in the body, which will lengthen the Telomeres and stop, or even reverse the ageing process. If he's successful, he says we could all end up looking and feeling 24 years old again.
Is he onto something here? His detractors in the scientific community claim that he's just the latest in a long line of quacks and charlatans who've claimed to have found the Fountain of Youth or a miracle cure of aging but Dr Bill says the science is on his side.
The 63-year-old American believes that he could live till he's 150.
You can see the full story on SUNDAY, 7pm on One.