Forever Young (washingtonpost.com) If you semi-starve a healthy organism, it turns out, its life span will increase by 40 percent. This is the only proven method of altering the rate of aging. Works on nematodes, fruit flies, mice, dogs, rats and spiders. Critters react by channeling their energy from reproduction to maintenance.



There is this slight problem. Semi-starved lab rats are mean. "Oh, God, do they bite," notes one researcher. That's why it's hard to get humans into test trials. "Do you live longer or does it just feel that way?" another researcher jokes.