Is eternal youth within our reach? A team of Harvard scientists believes so, as they are one step closer to discovering the proverbial fountain of youth.
Recently published papers in scientific journals aging They have identified six chemicals that can reverse the ageing process in human and rodent skin cells.
Meet Dr. David Sinclair
Dr. David Sinclair, a molecular biologist at Harvard Medical School and co-author of the study, hailed this as a “breakthrough.” He sees it as a step toward “affordable whole-body rejuvenation.”
Dr Sinclair’s bold prediction that human testing could begin within the next year got people talking, including tech titan Elon Musk, who curiously asked: “So what exactly is it?”
Understanding the “Fountain of Youth”
The Fountain of Youth is a legendary spring whose waters are said to rejuvenate anyone who drinks or bathes in them.
Stories of such springs have been told around the world for thousands of years, with references to the Fountain of Youth appearing in the writings of Herodotus, the Romances of Alexander, and the Tales of Prester John.
The exact location of the mythical spring is described differently in various stories and legends, with one of the most famous of the associated locations being in Florida.
Legend has it that Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon, the first recorded European to reach Florida, discovered the state while searching for the Fountain of Youth, but there is no modern evidence to support this claim.
In modern times, the fountain of youth is often used metaphorically to describe anything that has the potential to extend life or slow aging: anything from scientific advances to new skin care products to healthy lifestyles.
The fountain of youth in a pill
Harvard researchers used a high-throughput cell-based assay to distinguish young cells from older, non-dividing, or senescent cells, a hallmark of aging.
The researchers rapidly tested thousands to millions of samples for biological activity and identified six chemical mixtures that “reverted genome-wide transcriptional profiles to a youthful state and reversed transcriptional age within a week.”
‘Miraculous’ reversal of aging
When these mixtures were tested in mouse and human cells, the results suggested that all six combinations had anti-aging effects.
The effects of this four-day treatment are comparable to the overall changes seen after one year of regenerative treatment described in a groundbreaking 2019 study that also focused on restoring epigenetic information.
The researchers assessed changes with age using transcriptomic clocks in rodents and humans, which use gene expression data to predict biological age.
“This new discovery has the potential to reverse ageing with a single pill, with a wide range of applications from improving vision to effectively treating age-related diseases,” Dr Sinclair said.
Warning: not everyone is convinced
But other biologists are skeptical of the enthusiastic claims. Biogerontologist Matt Kaeberlein offered cautious praise.
He noted that while this innovative screening method has the potential to lead to important discoveries, the research is still in its early stages.
Kaeberlein suggested that the team should have tested at least one of the formulations in animal models to show improvements in age-related health indicators and longevity before claiming benefits against biological aging.
Metabolic researcher Dr. Charles Brenner expressed concern about three compounds in the study: CHIR99021, which blocks glycogen formation to conserve energy during sleep; tranylcypromine, an antidepressant; and valproic acid, used to treat bipolar disorder but which can harm the liver.
The study did not address these risks, and Brenner warned that “these are generally not safe, either alone or in combination.”
Brenner also criticized the study for not using single-cell sequencing to assess the cells’ identities, noting that researchers first reported these cocktails in 2013, suggesting that the compounds are not a new discovery.
“Getting this information about cells is not groundbreaking research into reversing aging,” Brenner said.
Forever young? Not yet
The quest for eternal youth has taken a major step forward after Harvard University scientists identified a cocktail of six chemicals that has the potential to reverse the aging process in human and rodent cells.
While Dr. David Sinclair and his team hailed this as a breakthrough towards the possibility of whole-body rejuvenation, skepticism remains among other biologists regarding the safety and preliminary nature of the findings.
As the scientific community awaits further validation and research, the dream of a fountain of youth in pill form, while so close, remains elusive.
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