Humanity has always hoped that one day, science would be able to make us all younger. Perhaps each and every one of us has his moments when we would want to be younger again.
A new experiment takes the world closer to such an apparently impossible goal. According to Insider, researchers from Babraham Institute in Cambridge announced that they were able to rejuvenate skin cells by reprogramming them to behave and look 30 years younger.
However, if you’re thinking that it sounds too good to be true, we’re not here to affirm the opposite. But instead, we have to say that there’s a major catch to the experiment that requires attention.
The technique that was used could increase cancer risk
The method that scientists used to rejuvenate the skin cannot be further used in a clinic, at least for now. That’s because the risk for cancer might go up.
To be more precise, a 53-year old woman’s skin was reprogrammed to behave and look as if the person was just 23 years old.
Postdoctoral student Diljeet Gill declared for BBC, as Insider quotes:
I remember the day I got the results back and I didn’t quite believe that some of the cells were 30 years younger than they were supposed to be,
It was a very exciting day.
The team intended to create embryonic stem cells. Growing stem cells was possible after exposing adult cells to molecules.
In a press release, molecular biologist Wolf Reik stated:
This work has very exciting implications. Eventually, we may be able to identify genes that rejuvenate without reprogramming, and specifically target those to reduce the effects of ageing. This approach holds promise for valuable discoveries that could open up an amazing therapeutic horizon.
The new findings were published in eLife.