Scientists Discover How to De-Age Skin Cells by 30 Years
A newly published study makes HUGE strides in age-reversal and cell rejuvenation. Scientists have found a way to rejuvenate skin cells without damaging their function. Do you know what this could mean for skincare and modern medicine?
The University of Cambridge, Babraham research institution developed a new technique for rejuvenating skin cells and restoring their function up to 30 years younger!
The sad truth about aging is that cells begin to lose proper function over time. Scientists at this institute have focused on de-aging specifically by targeting the cells' function, and ways of ‘rejuvenating’ or repairing older/aged cells. This specialty is called regenerative biology; its purpose being to create induced stem cells and produce fibroblasts, that will in turn generate collagen and heal surface wounds. Stem cells can transform into any kind of cell, which is something scientists can use to their advantage for rejuvenating purposes.
In their method, the cells go through a maturation phase of brief reprogramming where they lose their identity and are given time to grow on their own in normal conditions. When measuring their progress by comparing the DNA sequence changes, the cells showed that they regained their skin-like structure. They also observed more collagen produced in the reprogrammed cells, which is what helped confirm their theory. Researchers checked the cellular age by looking at the epigenetic clock where chemical tags indicate the genome age. Their results astonishingly proved that the reprogrammed cells matched the cell profile of those that were 30 years younger.
The process they discovered restores the epigenome of the cells to a more youthful state. Scientist, Shinya Yamanaska, was the very first to discover how to turn normal cells into stem cells (which can develop into any type of cell). The maturing, or reprogramming, phase takes around 50 days to restore the molecular measure of biological age. The fibroblasts, connective tissue cells, showed higher and more youthful levels of collagen proteins. The cells will not lose their function and remain unharmed in the reprogramming process, which is what makes this technique so important.
These discoveries are amazing progress towards understanding the reprogramming of human cells and could mean so many things for age-related diseases. Further studies will show how they may be able to use this knowledge for potentially treating Alzheimer's, cataracts, skin wounds, and more. Imagine what we will be able to discover in terms of understanding how disease can attack your system, and the ways of preventing it.
Cell reprogramming could be the solution to untreatable diseases, and just might be the secret to younger-looking skin. As we continue to follow the progress in this ground-breaking advance in age-reversal, proven methods to take years off your skin can be found here.
Be well. Be safe. Be beautiful.
