Can Engineers Control the Aging Process and Stay Younger for Longer?
Outlined below are 12 Innovations that Engineers and Scientists say may offer new ways of slowing down the aging process and make staying younger and healthier for longer a real possibility.
Scientists have been looking for ways to keep us young, and to slow down the aging process for decades. Getting older is part of life. Can this process really be altered?
Technology has moved forward by leaps and bounds and has made some major breakthroughs in the area of anti-aging technology. The more we learn about the human body, the closer we come to slowing down the aging process. Maybe one way to slow down the aging process is to have more fun – like playing at a Vegas casino online. Well, maybe not, but below are 12 of the latest real innovations in the field of anti-aging.
Reprogramming Cells with Stem Cell Technology
A study conducted in 2016 in the Salk Institute of Biological Studies found that by reprogramming the cells of aging mice it was possible for pluripotent stem cells to form. It was then possible for researchers to reprogram skin cells to an embryonic state.
The results of this study showed that those mice whose cells had been reprogrammed actually lived 30% longer than the mice who were in the non-reprogrammed control group. Human trials are still a long way off as there are risks involved in the use of these pluripotent stem cells.
Repairing Aging Cells
In 2016 researchers found a method of using the mitochondria of cells to successfully repair DNA. Two types of DNA are found in cells: mitochondria – normal mtDNA and mutant mtDNA. The research found that over time build- up of mutant mtDNA causes cells to age and then to die.
The study looked at the process through which cells eat themselves, autophagy, and targeting the mutant mtDNA to see if this would actually slow down or prevent the aging process.
The study was successful in the fruit fly. A reduction of mutant mtDNA was founds in its muscle cells. Future research is needed to develop similar techniques that may be used to repair aged cells in humans.
Activating Splicing Factors: Crafting Reversalogues and Encouraging Cell Division
Some very important research was published in 2017 in the United Kingdom which offered a breakthrough in reverse aging technology. It was following up from previous studies which showed that splicing factors in cells become inactive with age. The scientists found that by introducing reversalogues, like chemical resveratrol which is contained in red wine, splicing factors could be reactivated in aged cells.
The study found that by introducing reversalogues, similar to the chemical resveratrol which is found in red wine, splicing factors could be reactivated in older cells. This caused the cells to continue to divide as is the case with younger cells, preventing cells aging and dying. This research is very encouraging and could mean a longer healthier life expectancy and reduced signs of aging.
Reversing Aging in Dogs
A new start up connected with Harvard has been working on a new technology to stop or prevent aging in dogs. Not a lot is known about the research methods used in this study. However, it is thought to be focusing on the modification of particular genes in targeting such things as kidney disease and heart disease amongst others.
The study is looking initially at two types of dogs, the Doberman Pinschers and Cocker Spaniels. Both of these breeds do not live long lives due to their genetics.
The Researchers in this study are very positive that their research on reverse aging in dogs will bring about FDA approval and allow for human trials to begin.
Combining Pre-Existing Medications in Order to Achieve Reverse Aging.
Research carried out by the National Institute of Aging has found that merging and injecting pre-existing medications could delay health issues related to age and also prolong life. The study was carried out using mice. They were treated with dasatinib, used normally to treat leukemia and quercetin which can be found in fruits and vegetables.
When the mice were treated with the medications, it was found that senescent cells were selectively destroyed and the decline in speed and mobility of the mice slowed down. It was found that mice aging naturally that were treated with the drug lived 36% longer those in the control group of mice. If this outcome can be produced in humans using these pre-existing drugs it means that there is a possibility of reversing the aging process and lengthening our lifespans.
Intervening in the Aging Process using Synthetic Peptides.
Research has recently been carried out using Na/K-ATPase oxidant amplification loop (NAKL) for anti-aging interventions. The study also successfully used pNaKtide, a synthetic peptide, to further reduce signs of aging and illness.
The researchers initially studied mice, used to a western diet to provoke the NAKL. This then showed evidence of aging and then they were treated with pNaKtide. The result was a slowing down of the aging process brought on by the introduction of NAKL.
Following this, the researchers tested the treatment on human dermal fibroblasts. The results were similar. It may well be possible to slow down the aging process by effectively targeting the NAKL and intervene using a treatment of pNaKtide.
Using Viruses to Smoothen Cell Wrinkles.
Recent studies have shown that just like our skin wrinkles as you get older, so do our cells. Researchers have found that many of the problems of aging may well be the result of cell nuclei wrinkling. This wrinkling is causing the DNA to function inadequately.
Is it possible to prevent this wrinkling from occurring? The research suggests that it may be possible to use viruses to smooth out the membranes. The viruses can be altered so that they contain lamin which is a protein with the ability to smooth out the cells.
This would then allow the cells to revert to acting like young cells and reverse the effects of aging and protect against health risks.
Pumping Young Blood into Old Veins
A study recently published has suggested that the blood taken from young people and pumped into the veins of aging people could actually help in reversing the aging process.
In the study which used mice, blood was taken from young mice and pumped into older mice. It was found that this new young blood stimulated the growth of stem cells and neurons in the brains of the older mice. The brain functioning of the older mice began to function like the younger mice and in turn reversing the effects of aging on cognition.
Clinical trials are being prepared whereby elderly humans will receive the blood of 16 to 24 year olds. However, it will be sometime in the future before we know whether young blood will be used to delay aging.
Anti-Aging Pills
There is some research being done at Harvard Medical School that suggests that aging can be prevented by developing an anti-aging pill.
Researchers used the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) to stop the signs of aging in mice. NAD+ is crucial for preserving healthy cells and for cellular aging. The experiment involved putting small amounts of NAD+ into the water the mice drank. Within a very short time the NAD+ levels in their cells had risen considerably. After a week the tissues of mice that had received the NAD+ had become more youthful.
Human trials have already begun using NAD+. The results have been promising. If these NAD+ supplements receive approval from the FDA it may well be that we will see them in our pharmacies shortly.
Using Cannabis to Reverse Aging
A study recently published has suggested that cannabis may be the answer to improving cognitive ability and slowing down the signs of aging. Scientists in this study were able to change the biological state of the brain in mice between the ages of 12 months and 18 months. The mice were given THC in very small doses over a four week period. These were non-intoxicating doses. The results showed that the mice in the study receiving the THC now had similar cognitive abililites as their younger counterparts. This may well indicate that giving elderly humans non-intoxicating THC could help in restoring youthful levels of cognition.
Using Bacteria to Create Anti-Aging Pills
There is some research being done that suggests that the answer to slowing down the aging process can be found on Easter Island, in the Pacific Ocean. Rapamycin, found in soil bacteria on Easter Island is already being successfully used in transplant medicines and as an immunosuppressant. However, Scientists are now suggesting that this could also be used to stop the effects of aging.
Experiments using rapamycin on mice, worms and flies proved successful in slowing down the rate of death. Studies are now focusing on dogs in the hope that these studies will lead to an anti-aging pill containing rapamycin to be used by humans. However, it may be some time before we see these pills on our shelves.
Deleting Selective Genes to Increase Lifespan
A study published in 2015, after many years of research, showed that they had identified and deleted genes that could specifically lengthen lifespan. 238 cells were identified and hence removed resulting in a 60% increase in life expectancy.
These same genes are to be found in mammals and therefore it would suggest that the same process may also work for humans. The research has been going on for 10 years already, finding and removing the genes that are responsible for aging in yeast. The results are promising for use in future studies of aging in humans.
All of these innovations suggest a promising future and the real possibility of actually slowing down the aging process and eliminating many of the health issues associated with anti aging.
