Chinese researchers have discovered a new virus on the ocean floor of the deepest place on earth.

The pathogen was found in sediment five miles below sea level in the Mariana Trench, the lowest point on earth in the Pacific Ocean, and south of Japan.

‘Wherever there’s life, you can bet there are regulators at work,’  Min Wang, a marine virologist at the Ocean University of China in Qingdao who led the research, said. ‘Viruses, in this case.’

The virus is a bacteriophage – which means ‘bacteria eater’ – and survives by infecting and replicating inside bacteria. 

Yue Su, one of the authors of the research study, told DailyMail.com that isolating and learning more about bacteriophage gene libraries is beneficial to humans.

‘They help protect humans from bacterial infections, especially in today’s era of antibiotic use and the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria,’ Su said.

Su also said current research suggests there is no precedent for bacteriophages like the virus found in the ocean sediment infecting humans and marine life, because its host is bacteria.

Therefore, the team can store the new strain in an ordinary laboratory lab at about 39 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius).

The team published their report in Microbiology Spectrum.

The virus was found in sediment 29,200 feet below sea level in the Mariana Trench which reaches nearly 36,100 feet at its lowest point.

The bacteria, which is infected by the virus, is usually found in sediment deep in the ocean and in hydrothermal vents – or openings on the seafloor that release hot water streams, according to the report.

‘To our best knowledge, this is the deepest known isolated phage in the global ocean,’ Wang said.

Research is currently limited on hadal viruses – or viruses from the hadal zone which is the deepest part of the ocean – Su said, so no viruses that can infect animals or humans have been isolated from the zone yet.

But the team is not ruling out the possibility of the presence of viruses in the zone that could infect animals and humans, and Su said future research will be needed there.

According to Wang, an analysis of the virus’s genetic material suggests the existence of a viral family in the ocean that was not known of before. 

It also gives new insights into deep-sea phages and phage-host interactions, Wang said. 

The new virus is being identified as vB_HmeY_H4907, and the team’s analysis shows it has a similar structure to its host. 

The virus is lysogenic, meaning it invades and replicates inside the host, and doesn’t usually kill the bacterial cell.

The research team looked for viruses in bacterial strains that were collected and isolated by another team under Yu-Zhong Zhang, also a marine virologist at the Ocean University of China.

Climate change and rising ocean temperatures affect ocean currents and sedimentation, for example, and Su said the team speculates these environmental factors may impact the survival pressures on viruses as their hosts’ metabolism change due to changes in the ocean. This could potentially lead to the rise of new viruses, but there is currently no research in this area, Su said. 

Wang said the researchers’ findings lead to new questions and research around how viruses in harsh, secluded environments stay alive, and how they co-evolve alongside their hosts. 

The team wants to continue investigating interactions between deep-sea viruses and their hosts, and searching for new viruses in other extreme places.

‘Extreme environments offer optimal prospects for unearthing novel viruses,’ Wang said. 

Those heading to the gym after work may want to adjust their schedules, research suggests.

A US study on 5,285 middle-aged adults showed exercising between 7am to 9am was the best time for weight loss.

Participants in this category had a lower body mass index (BMI) and smaller waist circumference than people who exercised at midday or in the evening. This was despite them spending more time sedentary than the others.

Scientists said morning exercise may be best because the schedule is easier to stick to and people are less likely to be distracted by phone calls, emails or meetings.

Dr Rebecca Krukowski, a clinical psychologist at the University of Virginia, said: ‘This is exciting new research that is consistent with a common tip for meeting exercise goals.

‘That is, schedule exercise in the morning before emails, phone calls or meetings might distract you.’

She admitted, however, the results could be attributed to other factors, such as having a more predictable schedule or not having any care giving responsibilities. 

She added: ‘Predictable schedules could have other advantageous effects on weight that were not measured in this study, such as sleep length and quality or stress levels.

‘In addition, the “morning larks” who consistently rise early enough for morning exercise may be biologically different from their “night owl” counterparts.’

Studies suggest people who get up earlier have circadian rhythms — or ‘body clocks’ — that run earlier, which could improve sleep quality and ensure a consistent schedule, which can all drive weight loss.

Scientists found people who were early birds were 10 to 13 years older than those in the other two groups. 

Most of them also had a college degree and said they had never smoked or used alcohol. They also had healthier diets and ate less than those in the other two groups.

For the study, published today in the journal Obesity, scientists looked at data from the official National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) — which assesses the health of about 5,000 adults and children in the US every year.

They used data from 2003 to 2006, when participants wore fitness trackers — or accelerometers — on their hip for to track exercise for seven consecutive days.

While NHANES still uses fitness trackers, they are now worn on wrists, making comparisons with more recent years less reliable.

In the study, data from the trackers was used to split participants into three groups — morning, or from 7am to 9am, midday, between 11am and 1pm, or evening, from 5pm to 8pm, exercisers.

Scientists then compiled data on the BMI and waist circumference in each group to find out which group was least likely to be obese.

Of the participants, 642 were in the morning group while 2,400 exercised at midday and 2,187 in the evening.

BMI was lowest in the morning group at 25.9 kg/m2 — putting them just above the healthy range of 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2.

The results were similar between the midday and evening groups, which had a BMI of 27.6 and 27.2 kg/m2 respectively — putting them in the overweight range.

Waist circumference was also lowest in the morning group at 36inches (91.5 centimeters).

In the evening group it was 37.4inches (95cm) and in the midday group it was 37.7inches (95.8cm).

Dr Tongyu Ma, an exercise physiologist at Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire, added: ‘Our findings propose that the diurnal pattern of moderate to vigorous physical activity could be another important dimension to describe the complexity of human movement.’

Researchers are divided on the best time of day to exercise in order to boost weight loss, but several studies point to the morning being the best.

A 12-week study involving 100 adults from Skidmore College, New York, that was published last year suggested women interested in losing fat were best off exercising in the morning.

Another paper from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute published earlier this year also suggested exercising in the morning was best for weight loss, after finding mice had a higher fat metabolism when exercising early in the day.

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By Caitlin Tilley, Health Reporter For Dailymail.Com

Published: 00:05 EDT, 13 September 2023 | Updated: 00:05 EDT, 13 September 2023

Scientists may have discovered a new human species for a second time this week.

Anthropologists in France found a 45,000-year-old pelvic bone of an infant, which is neither a match to Neanderthals nor Homo sapiens.

The hip bone was found with the remains of 11 Neanderthals in the Grotte du Renne cave, later settled by anatomically modern humans (AMHs), suggesting the child coexisted with the now extinct species.

The artifact was compared against two Neanderthal and 32 modern baby bones, finding its shape was different from both species – but slightly closer to AMHs.

‘We propose that this is due to its belonging to an early modern human lineage whose morphology differs slightly from present-day humans,’ the team wrote in the study published in Nature.

The news comes as a separate study revealed an ancient skull that belonged to a child who lived up to 300,000 years ago in China may also belong to a new human species.

The fossilized remains, which included a jaw, skull, and leg bones, were discovered in Hualongdong, China in 2019.

What bemused experts, however, is that the individual’s facial features did not match the lineage which split to form Neanderthals, nor Denisovans, nor us, leading them to suspect that we might be missing a branch from the human family tree.

And this is what the latest discovery has uncovered. 

AMHs appeared in Western Europe about 42,000 years ago, 2,000 years before Neanderthals went extinct.

The Grotte du Renne cave is a site that was home to both species during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic eras but has provided evidence that Neanderthals developed aspects of modern behavior before contact with modern humans.

Layers of earth inside the cave provide a timeline for when Neanderthals lived in the cave and when AMHs took over the site, but a middle layer was home to the small pelvic bone that suggests another lineage also resided in the structure.

The infant bone was found at a level with 11 Neanderthal remains.

This level is known as the Châtelperronian techno-cultural complex, which lasted 45,000 to 40,000 years ago and was followed by the Mousterian industry. 

The Châtelperronian was an era when stone tools and flint knives were said to have been a pivotal point in the evolution of Neanderthals – although some scholars believe early humans fashioned the pieces.

The infant’s pelvic bone was found to have a completely different curvature than the immature Neanderthal bones but was just slightly off from the AHMs pelvic bone.

The team said the mysterious artifact was within the samples from modern humans.

‘This overlap could therefore indicate a variability of iliac [the hip bone] curvature shared between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, the study reads.

The researchers proposed that the infant was likely a member of the AMH population that coexisted with the last Neanderthals during the transition.

‘AR-63 would attest to the presence of AMH in this area of Western Europe during the Châtelperronian period, the researchers wrote.

‘The makers of the Châtelperronian could then be human groups where Neanderthals and AMH coexisted.’

If this hypothesis is validated, the team said ‘Châtelperronian may have ‘resulted from cultural diffusion or acculturation processes with possible population admixture between the two groups.’

This means Neanderthals learned from modern humans and used tool-making to evolve their technologies.

Immortality may still be a concept in the realm of science fiction or the pipe dreams of billionaires.

But there are lifestyle changes you can do today that may help you turn back the clock. 

Simple tips, like exercise and a healthy lifestyle, could extend our lives by 15 years, scientists say. 

And experts have also revealed exciting developments in the pipeline that could  eradicate the disease causing cells responsible for the aging process. 

Here, MailOnline asks the world’s top anti-aging scientists what you can do to live longer. 

Dr David Clancy 

Dr David Clancy from Lancaster University, who has spent decades researching how to delay the onset of age-related decline, has two tips for an longer life, calorie restriction and exercise. 

It may seem simple, we’ve been told to eat healthy and exercise for years, but the mechanics of how this influences aging are a complex.

Dr Clancy explained that these measures can help clear the body of senescent cells, also called ‘zombie cells’.

These are cells that eventually stop dividing, and then accumulate, releasing compounds in the body that accelerate ageing. 

The younger you are the better your body’s immune system is equipped to get rid of these ‘zombie cells’, but this capacity shrinks as we get older. 

Some scientists think we will be able to slow down aging by taking medication that ‘cleans up’ these senescent cells. 

But for now, Dr Clancy said grey hairs and aching joints could be held back through regular exercise and diet restriction. 

‘When things go into a state of starvation or where they think there is going to be substantial energetic demand, the cell will go into a state where they start to clean up proteins that are not working properly,’ he said. 

‘These proteins can hang around in normal conditions, but when the cell thinks there is going to be energy demands on it, then these things get cleaned up.’

Physical activity benefits the immune system by reducing the burden of senescent cells in skeletal muscle and fat cells, according to a review by researchers at the University of Birmingham in 2019. 

But another recent study by researchers in Taiwan suggests this is only possible with grueling high-intensity exercise. 

When it comes to a calorie restriction Dr Clancy, suggests a method that worked for his aunt who lived until she was in her 90s — a decade longer than the average life expectancy for a woman in the UK. 

He says her secret was not exercise, but ‘Ashkenazi genes, a life of relative ease’ and a ‘liquid diet’ for one day of the week, every week.

‘Now, I don’t think the liquid included sherry or wine, but just tea and coffee or water,’ Dr Clancy said.  

But he added: ‘The trouble with these behavioural changes is that they are very difficult to maintain.’

Dr Andrew Steele 

It is never too late to start when it comes to reaping the anti-aging benefits of exercise, says Berlin based scientist and writer Dr Andrew Steele.

‘No start is too small. Obviously you should build up to to more, but it is best to take the first step than do nothing’, he said. 

The scientist and author of ‘Ageless: The new science of getting older without getting old’, says exercise even has the power to improve the fitness of 90-somethings. 

In his book he refers to a 2014 study published in the journal Age, which sees a group of pensioners in their 90s follow a 12-week resistance training programme.

The results showed the pensioners increased their muscle strength and walking speed, implying some improvement to their health, and logically, their longevity.

Dr Steele said: ‘When you go out for a run you can feel your muscles working, you can feel your heart beating, your lungs going, you can imagine why it benefits your muscles and your cardiovascular system. 

‘What is also known is that exercise reduces your risk of cancer and dementia, so clearly it is having a much broader effect on the body than we can imagine.’

Dr Steele also believes each hallmark of aging causes the next one to be triggered so interrupting this process via exercise, can help us live longer. 

He explained that because our DNA tells our cells how to build and maintain our bodies if it starts to get damaged it can cause ‘typos’. 

This can increase risk of diseases such as cancer as well lead to the build-up of senescent cells, restricting our life expectancy. 

While Dr Steele said a cure is being developed to prevent this chain of processes, it may not be in the form of a miracle pill.  

‘I think one of the difficulties when I use the word cure, is that people visualize what they’ll take, and you’ll just stop aging,’ he said. 

‘That is absolutely not what I’m talking about. 

‘It’s going to be a variety of different things. 

‘We might, for example, use drugs to kill these senescent cells. 

‘But there might be other things that involve gene therapies, or stem cell therapies, which can sound a bit more futuristic.’

For now, he said exercise remains the easiest way to add years to your life.  

Professor Richard Faragher 

A non-believer when it comes to anti-aging supplements is Professor Richard Faragher, an expert in biogerontology at University of Brighton.

The award winning scientist has spent decades researching aging and he is past chair of both the British Society for Research on Ageing and the International Association of Biomedical Gerontology.

He told MailOnline: ‘I am always cautious about supplements because you never know how much of it is placebo. 

‘There is a plethora of stuff out there that has dubious evidence.’  

Although he believes there is no ‘one-size fits all’ approach when it comes to living longer he did say basic changes to lifestyle like watching your weight, exercising regularly, drinking in moderation and not smoking increase life expectancy. 

Professor Faragher said: ‘If you do those the difference in your life expectancy is about 15 years. 

‘But people don’t always like that advice.’ 

He also believes if we can tackle the build up of senescent cells we will be a step closer to managing aging. 

‘These build up in your body as you get older as an accidental by-product of repair and fixing you,’ he said.

‘They have behaviours that are toxic to the body and your immune system should be able to get rid of them but it doesn’t.’

Although exercising can help the immune system and ward off aging, Professor Faragher advised people to focus on the basics first. 

‘Worry about the bells and whistles if you are kind of the right weight, you are not waking up six days out of seven with a hangover, you are not gasping for a cigarette every ten minutes and your diet is healthy,’ he said. 

‘Then you can start to move on to what you can do about exercising to enhance your immune system.’ 

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By Colin Fernandez

Updated: 21:01 EDT, 9 June 2023

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By Sophie Freeman

Updated: 20:55 EDT, 9 June 2023

Altering a gene in mice allows them to live up to 20 per cent longer and protects them against cancer, scientists have discovered. 

Researchers today hailed the findings as a ‘big surprise’, saying they’ve yet to find any negative side effects.

And the team, from Taiwan, think the benefits could one day apply to humans, too.

Rodents were genetically-engineered in a lab to have a mutated version of the KLF1 gene.

These mice ended up living longer, were unusually active in middle-age and did not go grey as early, experts claimed.

Pushing their age-defying experiment further, researchers at Academia Sinica then decided to inject a group of unmodified mice with blood from the rodents found to live longer.

Mice given the modified protein ‘typically’ lived for five months longer, an increase of around 20 per cent.

Two-month-old mice are very roughly equivalent to 18-year-old people, according to New Scientist, which first reported the findings.

They also remained healthier for longer, with their physical and mental performance starting to decline later than unmodified mice.

All humans already carry the KLF1 gene, which regulates the production of new red blood cells. 

The findings, published on pre-print website, bioRxiv, also found the mice given the mutated KLF1 via a single bone marrow cell transplant, ‘appeared to have significantly higher anti-cancer capability’ than normal mice. 

They showed ‘reduced tumour growth’ and lower rate of ‘spontaneous cancer incidence’, researchers said, at 12.5 per cent compared to 75 per cent in mice who did not undergo the procedure. 

The cancer resistance of KLF1-mutated mice was not dependent on their age, gender or genetic background, scientists also found. 

Overall, the findings have ‘demonstrated the feasibility’ of a new approach to blood cell production ‘for anti-disease and anti-ageing’, the researchers said.

One of the scientists, Che-Kun James Shen, said: ‘So far, we have not found any negative side effects.’ 

Researchers also later injected modified cells, which show similarities to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) into the mice. 

ALS, a common form of the incurable motor neurone disease, is a rare condition that progressively damages parts of the nervous system. 

This leads to muscle weakness, often with visible wasting.

Mice with the mutated KLF1 genes were found to have significantly slower progress of the condition, researchers said.  

Responding to the researchers findings, Professor Joao Pedro de Magalhaes, a molecular biogerontologist at the University of Birmingham, said: ‘I am convinced of the life-extending properties of this mutation.’ 

Gene editing blood stem cells could also have ‘great potential as a therapy for ageing’, he added.

It comes as previous studies have also found infusions of young blood plasma could reinvigorate ageing organs and tissues, leading researchers to rush to produce and trial therapies based on the plasma. 

But while studies have found benefits for rodents, there is no evidence to date that this approach to youthfulness will help humans dodge the passage of time.