HOLY FUCKING SHIT: Scientists just might have managed to reverse the aging process

A small clinical study in California has suggested for the first time that it might be possible to reverse the body’s epigenetic clock, which measures a person’s biological age.

For one year, nine healthy volunteers took a cocktail of three common drugs — growth hormone and two diabetes medications — and on average shed 2.5 years of their biological ages, measured by analysing marks on a person’s genomes. The participants’ immune systems also showed signs of rejuvenation.

The results were a surprise even to the trial organizers — but researchers caution that the findings are preliminary because the trial was small and did not include a control arm.

“I’d expected to see slowing down of the clock, but not a reversal,” says geneticist Steve Horvath at the University of California, Los Angeles, who conducted the epigenetic analysis. “That felt kind of futuristic.” The findings were published on 5 September in Aging Cell.

“It may be that there is an effect,” says cell biologist Wolfgang Wagner at the University of Aachen in Germany. “But the results are not rock solid because the study is very small and not well controlled.”

Andy wrote:Which will lead to hugely increased numbers of elderly people, lower early mortality rates and a massive and unsustainable  increase in the human population.
Better to focus on illnesses such as diabetes, epilepsy and cancer that kill the young, rather than prolonging the life of octogenarians.

Ben Reilly wrote:

Andy wrote:Which will lead to hugely increased numbers of elderly people, lower early mortality rates and a massive and unsustainable  increase in the human population.
Better to focus on illnesses such as diabetes, epilepsy and cancer that kill the young, rather than prolonging the life of octogenarians.

Fuck that shit, I want to live forever!

But yeah, we do need to rein in the size of the global population.

'Wolfie wrote:

One "small" clinical study...

With a whole nine test subjects..

Methinks some cash-strapped researchers are chasing some funding to further advance their trials and testing  ?

Ben Reilly wrote:I think it sounds like something that could allow people to live into their 80s and 90s with a much higher quality of life. At a certain point, I do think most people would decide to let themselves age to death, so to speak.

But if I could have avoided losing my dad at age 60 because of this potential medical breakthrough, that would have been wonderful. I wish he'd gotten to see me marry the love of my life, and had the chance to meet my stepchildren. I know it would have made him really happy.

eddie wrote:

Ben Reilly wrote:I think it sounds like something that could allow people to live into their 80s and 90s with a much higher quality of life. At a certain point, I do think most people would decide to let themselves age to death, so to speak.

But if I could have avoided losing my dad at age 60 because of this potential medical breakthrough, that would have been wonderful. I wish he'd gotten to see me marry the love of my life, and had the chance to meet my stepchildren. I know it would have made him really happy.

I take your point because my dad didn’t see my kids grow up, he never knew his granddaughter at all, but I still find the idea icky and a bit Frankensteinish.

Maddog wrote:

eddie wrote:

Ben Reilly wrote:I think it sounds like something that could allow people to live into their 80s and 90s with a much higher quality of life. At a certain point, I do think most people would decide to let themselves age to death, so to speak.

But if I could have avoided losing my dad at age 60 because of this potential medical breakthrough, that would have been wonderful. I wish he'd gotten to see me marry the love of my life, and had the chance to meet my stepchildren. I know it would have made him really happy.

I take your point because my dad didn’t see my kids grow up, he never knew his granddaughter at all, but I still find the idea icky and a bit Frankensteinish.

Isn't most medication designed to prolong and extend life?

Maddog wrote:

eddie wrote:

I take your point because my dad didn’t see my kids grow up, he never knew his granddaughter at all, but I still find the idea icky and a bit Frankensteinish.

Isn't most medication designed to prolong and extend life?

Original Quill wrote:

Maddog wrote:

Isn't most medication designed to prolong and extend life?

Unfortunately, a sizable part of it is to reduce pain...which inevitably leads to addiction and loss of life.

I don't understand it.  Pain is your friend.  It's your body talking to you.