Lifespan-extending treatments increase variation in age at time of death

Studies into impact on vertebrate animals of dietary restriction and two associated drugs reveals widening of standard deviation around mean age of death

2026-02-25

(Press-News.org) A key goal in ageing research is not just to extend life, but to ensure more people live longer and healthier lives with less variation in age-at-death; a concept known as “squaring the survival curve.” Using a recent meta-analysis, Dr Tahlia Fulton and Associate Professor Alistair Senior from the University of Sydney School of Life and Environmental Sciences re-examined how dietary restriction and two related drugs, rapamycin and metformin, affect variation in age-at-death in vertebrates.

While two of the treatments increased average lifespan, all three increased variance. This means current lifespan-extending interventions do not "square the survival curve". Instead, the gains in average lifespan are matched by proportional increases in variability.

Dr Fulton said: "These approaches can make animals live longer, but the benefits aren’t shared equally. Without more information, the outcome looks like a biological lottery. We’re working to understand why, so future longevity science helps everyone."

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Lifespan-extending treatments increase variation in age at time of death

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