Tech · MIT Technology Review
Why “reprogramming” is the buzziest approach to reversing aging right now
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Earlier this week, Life Biosciences, a biotech company focused on reversing age-related diseases, announced that it had dosed its first volunteer.
Key facts
- Life Biosciences, which was founded by the Harvard biologist David Sinclair, most recently secured $80 million to support its research
- Altos was funded by the billionaire Yuri Milner—reportedly along with Jeff Bezos, among others—to the tune of $3 billion, a previously unheard-of figure for a biotech startup
- Retro’s launch was supported by $180 million from OpenAI’s Sam Altman
- In 2015 Liz Parrish, CEO of the biotech company BioViva, injected herself with an experimental gene therapy that she hoped might lengthen her telomeres
Summary
The idea is to try to treat the disease—which can cause vision loss—by regenerating healthy nerves in the eye. The approach is designed to work by “reprogramming” cells to a younger state. Aging is complicated. In 2013, one team published a seminal paper describing nine “ hallmarks of aging.” That list features many of the processes scientists have attempted to target. Take telomere attrition, for example.