Judge Judy, George Clooney, Suzanne Somers, Steve Buscemi, Rob Lowe, Christie Brinkley, Elizabeth Hurley. All people with the Benjamin Button gene.
The rest of us will eventually submit to our hair falling out, our bones becoming brittle, our ballsacks scraping the floor, and yelling at innocent clouds. What an unrelentingly fickle beast the process of aging is.
Well, that could change.
Breakthrough research from scientists at Harvard Medical School and University of New South Wales have found a molecule that could be essential to the health and survival of Mars astronauts as well as keeping humans forever young.
According to the New York Post, after six years of DNA testing, scientists have found out why our cells lose their ability to repair themselves as we age. Researchers found that DBC1, one of the human body’s most plentiful proteins, attaches itself to the protein that are responsible for repairing damaged cells, throwing off the healing process.
Scientists found a molecule called NAD, which halts DBCI from messing up cell repair. The older we get, the less NAD+ molecules we have.
In trials, researchers had mice drink water with a NAD+-boosting enzyme. “The cells of the old mice were indistinguishable from the young mice after just one week of treatment,” David Sinclair, lead author of the study, said in a statement. Not to mention the treated mice showed improved kidney function, regrown fur and the ability to run twice as fast as their untreated mouse friends.
The research has already garnered interest from NASA for their Mars astronauts due to the radiation on the planet all but guaranteeing they’ll get cancer. It could also be beneficial for child cancer survivors 96 percent of whom develop a chronic illness by 45 – a sign of accelerated aging, according to The Post.
“This is the closest we are to a safe and effective anti-aging drug that’s perhaps only three to five years away from being on the market if trials go well,” Sinclair said.
Human trials are scheduled to begin within six months.
[h/t New York Post]