In a lab, after hard work, scientists have discovered what “the elixir of youth.
In the laboratory of molecular biologist David Sinclair of Harvard Medical School, old mice rejuvenate. Using proteins that can turn an adult cell into a stem cell, Sinclair and his team reset aged cells in mice to earlier versions.
In the first discovery of his team, published in late 2020, visually impaired old mice and affected retinas were suddenly able to see again, with a vision that sometimes rivaled that of their offspring.
While modern medicine addresses disease, it does not address the root cause, “which, for most diseases, is aging itself. We know that when we reverse the age of an organ like the brain of a mouse, the diseases of aging disappear. The memory returns, so there is no more dementia.
In Sinclair’s lab, two mice are sitting next to each other. While one is young and vigorous, the other is weak and aged. However, they come from the same female and only one has been genetically modified to age faster.
If this can be done, why not? Japanese researcher Dr. Shinya Yamanaka has already reprogrammed adult human skin cells to behave like embryonic or pluripotent stem cells, capable of growing in any cell in the body.
The “elixir of youth” discovered by researchers
However, the adult cells completely passed back to stem cells through Yamanaka factors they lose their identity. Looking for a safer alternative, laboratory geneticist Sinclair Yuancheng Lu chose three of the four factors and added them genetically to a harmless virus.
The virus was designed to provide Yamanaka rejuvenating factors to damaged retinal ganglion cells in the back of an aged mouse’s eye. After the virus was injected into the eye, the pluripotent genes were then started by feeding the mouse antibiotics.
Amazingly, damaged neurons from the eyes of mice injected with the three cells rejuvenated, even growing new axons or projections from the eyes to the brain. Since that original study, Sinclair has said that his lab has reversed aging in the muscles and brains of mice and is now working to rejuvenate the entire body of mice.
Studies on whether genetic intervention that has revitalized mice will do the same for humans are in their infancy. It will be years before human testing is completed, analyzed and, if safe and successful, scaled to the table required for a federal approval stamp.
While we wait for science to determine if we can reset our genes, there are many other ways to slow down. the aging process and resetting our biological clocks. Basic tips include eating plants, eating infrequently, effective sleep, exercise and social life.
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