Skin Rejuvenation Insights Could Help Treat Aging-Related Diseases
Professor Wolf Reik of the Babraham Institute in Cambridge has been working with a team of fellow epigeneticists to “rejuvenate” human cells, making them equivalent to the cells of someone much younger. The process builds off of the same cell generation technique (called IPS) that helped produce Dolly the cloned sheep back in the 90’s, in which scientists take cells from a living mammal and add in chemicals to induce genetic change.
The team’s research was published in the scientific journal eLife earlier this month. Their paper describes a new “maturation phase transient reprogramming” (MPTR) method that reverses the aging process in somatic cells. Reik’s team took dermal fibroblasts (cells responsible for helping skin recover from injury) from middle-aged donors and spent 12 days reprogramming them until the cells functioned at their prime. This allowed the cells to once again produce “youthful levels of collagen proteins,” which are essential to maintaining the skin’s elasticity. At one point, Reik’s team found they were able to rejuvenate the skin cells of a 53-year-old woman to the point that they behaved as if they were 23.
Though at first glance the scientists’ mission appears cosmetically motivated, Reik states their research is aimed at delaying or alleviating age-related diseases like diabetes, neurological disorders, and heart disease. Their MPTR technique also has the potential to assist with healing after severe cuts or burns. “The long-term aim is to extend the human health span, rather than the lifespan, so that people can get older in a healthier way,” Reik told BBC News. If MPTR is found to be applicable to immune cells, it may even boost people’s response to vaccinations.
Genetically changing cells through IPS does increase one’s risk of cancer, so it’s unlikely that human patients will receive rejuvenation therapy like this anytime soon. That being said, researchers are working on reducing IPS-related mutation risk—it’s just going to take a while to get the science right. Reik and his team are simultaneously working toward finding a safer way to conduct MPTR so the technique can be introduced to other human tissues.
Continue reading
Review: The Oculus Quest 2 Could Be the Tipping Point for VR Mass Adoption
The Oculus Quest 2 is now available, and it's an improvement over the original in every way that matters. And yet, it's $100 less expensive than the last release. Having spent some time with the Quest 2, I believe we might look back on it as the headset that finally made VR accessible to mainstream consumers.
Samsung, Stanford Built a 10,000 PPI Display That Could Revolutionize VR, AR
Ask anyone who has spent more than a few minutes inside a VR headset, and they'll mention the screen door effect. This could eliminate it for good.
NASA: Asteroid Could Still Hit Earth in 2068
This skyscraper-sized asteroid might still hit Earth in 2068, according to a new analysis from the University of Hawaii and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Google Kills Free Photo Storage, Changes What Counts Toward Storage Caps
Google has announced some significant changes to Photos, especially if you use the service for automatic backup.