Aging is a battle that humans have known they can’t win since the beginning of history. We can hate it or (eventually) accept it but ultimately we can’t avoid growing old. However, over the years scientists have been trying to pinpoint the roots of this biological process and work out if there is any way to stop or reverse it. There have been some minor successes along the way and a new study adds to these.
The researchers were able to reverse the aging process of some old human cells by delivering a specific molecule to their mitochondria, the structures within cells where energy is produced. This approach stops the cells from becoming senescent, a point at which they can no longer duplicate. Some researchers believe that the accumulation of these cells in organs is key to the aging process.
“We still don’t fully understand why cells become senescent as we age, but damage to DNA, exposure to inflammation and damage to the protective molecules at the end of the chromosomes – the telomeres – have all been suggested,” the authors wrote in a post on The Conversation. “More recently, people have suggested that one driver of senescence may be loss of our ability to turn genes on and off at the right time and in the right place.”
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