Through collaborative research with Amorepacific, the research team led by Professor Ryu Dong- ryeol of the School of Medicine identified the fundamental mechanism and element of dietary restriction- driven longevity enhancement. On November 1st, the team published an article in Nature Communications explaining how L- Threonine, an essential amino acid, supports a healthy lifestyle. Improving a “healthy lifetime,” or in other words, maintaining healthy circumstances for extended periods while improving the quality of life, is a current research priority. Dietary restriction has been acknowledged as the most effective technique, but in- depth research to clarify the nature of the metabolic materials involved was lacking. Prof. Ryu’s research team examined metabolic materials that specifically increased in the dietary restriction group and the Caenorhabditis elegans group, which is known to have a long life span due to specific gene mutations. Among such materials, the team confirmed that L- Threonine commonly rose to delay the aging rate and promote longevity. The team also discovered that the L- Threonine- treated group survives 15 to 18% longer, behaves more quickly, and contains more antioxidant enzymes. This discovery allowed the team to learn that L- Threonine protects genes from ferroptosis, one of the causes of aging, and promotes a long and healthy life. Prof. Ryu remarked, “This investigation is a significant achievement to discover a novel mechanism of longevity, but further research is required to determine how L- Threonine regulates ferroptosis.”