
The youth elixir in this experiment is an enzyme called telomerase, which prevents the natural deterioration of telomeres, a protective cap found at the tip of chromosomes.
Most ageing occurs because of the deterioration of telomeres. Three scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize last year for the discovery of telomerase.
In the experiement, led by Dr. Ronald DePinho, a cancer geneticist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, scientists took six-month-old mice and engineered them with a telomerase gene, which could be toggled on or off through artificial means. When turned off, the mice manifested typical symptoms of age often seen in humans in their 80s and 90s, such as barrenness, shrunken brains, and loss of smell.
Furthermore, a human application is still at least a decade away, he predicts. Instead, the biggest take-home from the experiment is that ageing cells can be rejuvenated.
"It teaches us that if the underlying cause of ageing is eliminated, that tissues retain a remarkable capacity to rejuvenate—so there is a point of return on the ageing process."
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