A New Benchmark for De-Aging Comes From Slowly Turning Back Cells’ Clocks

Researchers at Germany’s Bonn University have developed a way to gradually make blood cells show younger biological-age markers without turning them fully into pluripotent stem cells. The approach could give scientists a clearer way to study how cells lose signs of ageing and help assess future treatments for age-related conditions.

The team worked with blood cells from donors ranging from an infant to a 101-year-old, and within two months one age biomarker had shifted back by as much as 60 years. The changes continued even when cell multiplication was sharply limited, though the mechanism remains unknown. The researchers also changed the cells into neuron-producing cells, which complicates comparisons because blood cells and neurons age differently.