A pill that allows people to live beyond 100 and eliminates Alzheimer's, diabetes and heart disease is being developed by scientists. In a New York study, boffins have found three genes that extend life and prevent diseases such as Alzheimer's.

Lead researcher Dr Nir Barzilai, of the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, said several labs were now racing to create a pill that mimics them, reports The Daily Express.

Of the three longevity genes, two boost the production of so-called good cholesterol, which reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke. The third prevents diabetes.

The discoveries were made while studying the DNA of 500 Ashkenazi Jews with an average age of 100.

Professor Judith Phillips, president of the British Society of Geron­tology, said the discovery would change how people look at growing old.

She said: "It's a huge opportunity because the ageing population is growing anyway. They would be a huge resource because people would be able to work longer and they would have a healthier life, and it would r­evolutionise the way we look at older people. "And it would reduce costs in terms of care."