According to the latest figures from Age Concern, there will be 50 per cent more people over 65 in 2030 than there were in 1995.

In the face of this rapidly-ageing population, there is a growing need to find out why and how the body declines with age - and to slow the process down.

Sally Hallreports on research from the University of Brighton which may help to make ageing as we know it a thing of the past.

As the number of over-65s in the UK increases from nine million in 1995 to a projected 13.5 million in 2030, the need to solve the mysteries of the ageing process has become increasingly important.

Not only is the baby boom population surge of the Fifties advancing into its twilight years, old people are generally living longer.

For many, this may mean years of active good health and high quality of life.

But for many more, old age can mean decades of pain and decline. According to the Government's NHS Plan, released in July, two-thirds of NHS hospital patients are in the over-65 age group, which also accounts for 40 per cent of emergency admissions.

More Government funding has been ploughed into the science of ageing in the past two years than ever before. Research into the ageing processes and the prevention of its harmful effects has progressed at an impressive rate - and one of the leading centres in this expanding area is the University of Brighton.

A team of researchers at the university's School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences is now dedicated to studying the science of the declining body and mind.

These scientists literally work against the clock to combat the effects of ageing. According to cell biologist Richard Faragher, the degeneration of the mind and body experienced by old people may one day be a thing of the past.

He said: "What we are hoping to achieve, not just for people in this country but for people all over the world, is to see an increase in health and quality of life for older people.

"I hope in the 21st Century we will see something we haven't seen before - an old age which is largely free from all the things which make life miserable for the elderly.

"Treatments may also lead to extensions in human life span. If that happens, it's great, but it's not the primary goal. The primary goal is to improve quality of life."

There are three main areas of ageing research at the university. For several years, Dr Faragher has been attempting to clone the gene for Werner's syndrome, a condition which causes people to age unnaturally quickly.

He hopes that through examining the accelerated ageing processes characteristic of this disease, he will be able to solve mysteries about the ageing process in general.

Together with colleagues at the University of Wales, Dr Faragher and his team were the first group in the world to show the disease could be corrected in laboratory conditions.

He says: "If you take an enzyme called Telomerase and you put the gene from that into a test tube with cells from people with Werner's, you can correct the disease."

Dr Faragher hopes this laboratory breakthrough will one day apply as a way of fighting the disease in the human body - and the processes of ageing generally.

The Brighton team has also produced a "super anti-oxidant" to destroy free radicals, the dangerously reactive chemical compounds which help to accelerate ageing.

According to Dr Faragher: "These super anti-oxidants are much more powerful than any anti-oxidants we have seen before. They act as catalysts to destroy free radicals, which become more dangerous with age as defence and repair systems are brought down. We are looking for a way to pep those systems up."

The third area of research involves examining the brains of pond snails. The UK's first scientifically- scrutinised population of pond snails has now been established at Brighton, with the aim of discovering how their brains react to ageing.

"A colleague, Mark Yeoman, is looking at the circuit in the pond snail's brain which regulates its ability to feed. In older animals, this circuit is defective, making the snails effectively senile.

"If we can understand what is going wrong inside simple snail's brains, this may give us new insight into the ageing of a human brain."

The charity Age Concern has welcomed the thrust of the Brighton team's work.

A spokeswoman said: "The problem with old age is morbidity, when people begin to lose their health and their quality of life is reduced.

"Older people get more diseases and become less mobile. Their bodies aren't as fit as they once were but often their minds are. It would be wonderful if it was possible to eradicate this aspect of ageing. Any advance in this area is welcomed."

Dr Faragher believes a host of diseases could eventually be prevented or delayed as a result of the team's research: "There are a whole range of diseases we associate with older people - degenerative cardio-vascular disease, osteoporosis, some cancers, Alzheimer's Disease.

"By studying the causes of ageing, you are actually looking at the root causes of many of these diseases - and the way to prevent them."