Another example of simultaneously boosting life span and reducing cancer in mice in the laboratory - not maximum lifespan, however, or the paper would be much more triumphant. This is the first I've seen of this particular mechanism, so your guess is as good as mine as to what is going on under the hood. Once thing I'm pleased to note is that the researchers controlled for calorie restriction, and considered it important enough to state as much in the abstract. That's progress: "Sulfate (SO(4)(2-)) plays an important role in mammalian growth and development. In this study, hyposulfatemic NaS1 null (Nas1-/-) mice were used to investigate the consequences of perturbed SO(4)(2-) homeostasis on longevity. Median life spans were increased (by ?25%) in male and female Nas1-/- mice when compared with Nas1+/+ mice on identical food intakes. At 1yr of age, serum SO(4)(2-) levels remained low in Nas1-/- mice (?0.16mM) when compared to Nas1+/+ mice (?0.96mM). RT-PCR revealed increased hepatic mRNA levels of Sirt1 (by ?60%), Cat (by ?48%), Hdac3 (by ?22%), Trp53 and Cd55 (by ?36%) in Nas1-/- mice, genes linked to ageing. Histological analyses of livers from 2yr old mice revealed neoplasms in >50% of Nas1+/+ mice but not in Nas1-/- mice. This is the first study to report increased lifespan, decreased hepatic tumours and increased hepatic expression of genes linked to ageing in hyposulfatemic Nas1-/- mice, implicating a potential role of SO(4)(2-) in mammalian longevity and cancer."

Link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21651971