Scientists find way to STOP ageing in development which could lead to everlasting life
SCIENTISTS have made a major breakthrough in their attempts to get humans to live forever after discovering a way to stop cells from ageing.
In the latest research, scientists analysed children with a fatal disease known as progeria – an illness which causes rapid ageing.
More specifically, they looked at the telomeres of the children. Telomeres are fragments of DNA which cap both ends of each chromosome and protect against the wear and tear of natural ageing.
However, as one ages, the telomeres shorten and can no longer protect the chromosome which results in what we know as ageing.
John Cooke, cardiovascular sciences department chair at the Houston Methodist Research Institute (HMRI), led the team which found that by lengthening the telomeres, it stopped isolated cells from ageing.
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Dr Cooke said: “We all have telomere erosion over time, and many of the things that happen to these children at an accelerated pace occur in all of us.
“What we’ve shown is that when we reverse the process of the telomere shortening in the cells from these children and lengthen them, it can reverse a lot of the problems associated with ageing.”
To achieve this, the scientists used technology called RNA therapeutics.
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This saw them deliver RNA to the telomeres which caused them to produce a protein called telomerase – essentially giving the telomeres the coding to lengthen.
Dr Cooke continued: “What was most unexpected about our work was the dramatic effect the telomere-extending technology had on the cells.
“We were not expecting to see such a dramatic effect on the ability of the cells to proliferate.
“They could function and divide more normally, and we gave them extra lifespan, as well as better function.”
As the study only looked at cells in a lab dish, it remains to be seen whether the process works within the body.
But Dr Cooke is still hopeful: “We can at least stall or slow down accelerated ageing, and that’s what we’re working toward.”
