The fishand chip shop was invaluable in supplementing the family'sweeklydiet in the Second World War, asfishandchipswere among the fewfoods not to be rationed.
But excited researchers say that apo E is rapidly emerging as the first-found of a set of mysterious genes that roughly determine how long a person will live, provided he or she escapes an "unnatural" death from bacteria and viruses, war, accidents, unhealthy diet, smoking or other environmental happenstance.