The present invention relates to the use of specific RNA sequences as a drug. The invention relates in particular to the use of small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) which the inventors have shown to be involved in ageing mechanisms. The snoRNAs of the invention can be used in particular to increase the stress resistance of a patient, to control the harmful effects of ageing, typically to prevent or treat a degenerative disease, a laminopathy, diabetes, obesity, or a cancer, as well as, generally, to extend the lifespan of a patient. The snoRNAs of the invention can also be used in fertility treatments. The invention further relates to the vectors, cells, genetically modified animals and compositions that are capable of expressing a snoRNA according to the invention, as well as to the methods that use one of the aforementioned products of the invention as a tool for identifying a molecule that is active in the prevention or treatment of a disease, an anomaly or a disorder linked to an ageing mechanism.
