One in five people carry a “smart gene” variant (变体) linked to long lifespan, bigger forebrains and enhanced mental ability, researchers have found.

“We’ve known for a long time that people lose cognitive (认知) abilities as they age, but now we’re beginning to understand that factors like KLOTHO can give people a boost in aging. Genetic variation in KLOTHO could help us predict brain health and find ways to protect people from the diseases that happen to us as we grow old, like Alzheimer’s disease (老年痴呆症),” said senior author, Dena Dubal of University of California.

The KLOTHO gene affects a protein found in the kidneys and the brain that regulates many different body processes. About one in five people carry a single copy of the variant, known as KL-VS, which boosts levels of the protein and is associated with a longer lifespan and improved heart and kidney function. A small minority, 3% of the population, has two copies, which is linked to a shorter lifespan.

In the new study scientists scanned the brains of 422 men and women aged 53 and over who were also tested for the KLOTHO gene. They found that participants with a single copy of the gene variant also had a larger brain region known as RDLPFC, which is especially likely to shrink with age. Loss of neurons in this area may be one reason why older people are sometimes easily distracted and find it difficult to do more than one task at the same time.

Researcher Dr Jennifer Yokoyama said, “The brain region enhanced by genetic variation in KLOTHO is vulnerable (脆弱的) in aging and some mental disease. In this case, bigger size means better function. It will be important to determine whether the structure increase associated with carrying one copy of KL-VS can offset the cognitive shortage caused by disease.”

People who have one copy of a variant KL-VS tend to live longer and have lower chances of suffering a stroke (中风),whereas people who have two copies may live shorter lives and have a higher risk of stroke.

With the world's attention on vaccines, now it feels like a good moment to sing the praises of an often forgotten contributor to their development. Three hundred years ago this month, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu got her daughter inoculated（接种）against smallpox, making her child the first person in the West to be protected in this way. Without Montagu's willingness to adopt a practice she had learned from other cultures, the introduction of vaccines around 80 years later would never have taken place.

Montagu first witnessed inoculation when she accompanied her husband to Turkey. Inoculation had started in Asia, probably in China, as early as the 10^th century AD. Montagu observed how older women in Turkey took a tiny amount of pus（脓）from a person with smallpox. They then used needles to make cuts on people's wrists and ankles and added the pus to their bloodstream. This helped people gain immunity from future infection.

Like other visitors to the country, Montagu took steps to ensure that her son was inoculated. This worked well, but she knew that trying it in England would be far more challenging. Inoculation performed by unlicensed amateurs would threaten doctors' professional standing and potentially rob them of valuable income. Some people also disagree with the practice, as they saw it as going against nature.

Back in England, Montagu observed smallpox infections became increasingly severe. Eventually, in April 1721, she decided to use the Turkish practice to have her daughter inoculated, because she believed that the rewards would outweigh the risks. After a safe time had passed following the inoculation, Montagu allowed doctors to examine her daughter.

Doctors in Britain gradually accepted the practice. About 80 years later, a pioneering physician found smallpox vaccines to destroy smallpox completely. As early as last century, academics argued that Montagu was no more than an enthusiastic amateur. In truth, she made a vital scientific contribution towards finding the cure for smallpox.

Every day on the respiratory ward(呼吸道病房)at one of Kyrgyzstan’s biggest hospitals, Temiraly kyzy, a 24-year-old nurse, puts on the music and leads her patients to dance.

This involves a range of body movements and leaves everyone smiling — but Temiraly kyzy is not doing it for fun. The dance is part of a treatment programme offered to people with COPD — a common, preventable and treatable lung condition.

COPD develops from midlife onwards;symptoms(症状)include breathlessness, cough and tiredness. It is one of the top three causes of death worldwide. Globally, there are 3 million deaths a year from COPD but this number is expected to rise to 5. 4 million by 2060.

Treatment for COPD in many countries involves inhalers and antibiotics(抗生 素). In Kyrgyzstan, these medicine can cost more than a monthly salary. In 2016, Sooronbaev, director of the National Centre and his team started experimenting with pulmonary rehabilitation(肺疾病康复), a physical exercise programme designed for people with lung conditions.

Over the years, the programme has expanded and now it is already in use in three hospitals. Apart from lectures and patient support groups, there is a system of physical exercise, including volleyball, walking, cycling on exercise bikes and dance.

The transformative effect has been obvious.“I remember one woman who was 63, ”a doctor says.“She cried because she had severe shortness of breath, coughed all the time. She was really depressed. ”She was invited to take part in the programme and the results surprised him.

“Afterwards, she was like a flower-she smiled and her body language was more active. That sticks in my mind.”

Sooronbaev wants pulmonary rehabilitation to be available throughout the country from this year. Patients who have experienced the programme are being trained to teach others, and Sooronbaev and colleagues are going to speak at medical conferences to inform other healthcare professionals about their progress with the programme.