According to scientists at Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Inc., they have created a drug that mimics the ingredient in red wine linked to longevity and the cell structures that power endurance athletes like cycling champion Lance Armstrong.

The new molecule is 1,000 times more potent than the wine derivative, resveratrol, and could lead to solutions for diseases of aging, including cancer and diabetes, according to authors of a study in today's issue of the journal Nature.

Researchers tested about 500,000 molecules for abilities to activate the immune-system booster SIRT1, the enzyme credited with resveratrol's ability to extend lifespans 30 to 70 percent in organisms from yeast and worms to flies and mice.

Human testing on the most promising ones will begin next year, said David Sinclair, an author of the study. Sirtris's stock rose 7.8 percent to $18.38 yesterday. The company, which went public in May, had seen its share price climb 71 percent through Tuesday.

Mice and rats given three of the molecules responded like those in other experiments testing extreme calorie-restricting diets, even though the rodents continued to eat and weigh the same. They showed increased insulin sensitivity, lower blood-sugar levels, and more powerful mitochondria, the "power packs of the cell" that diminish with age.