Estimates put this industry’s worth at a staggering $610 billion by 2025. 😳

The Renaissance philosopher Montaigne quipped that “death has us by the scruff of the neck at every moment.” He could have added: until, finally, it strangles us. But what if we knew how to escape death’s chokehold? What if we could avoid death and live forever?

Immortality might seem like the stuff of science fiction, yet it’s increasingly becoming the focus of real science. In 2013, Google launched Calico, a biotech firm whose objective is to “solve” death. PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, meanwhile, has pledged to “fight” death. And last year, it was reported Amazon chairman Jeff Bezos had invested in Altos Labs, a company that plans to “rejuvenate” cells in order to “reverse disease.” (Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

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Scientists led by Dr. Manuel Serrano have observed symptoms of rejuvenation in the pancreas, liver, spleen, and blood of mice after applying one cycle of cell reprogramming.

To achieve this, the researchers have characterized rejuvenation by studying molecular marks in the DNA, gene expression, and cell metabolism. The study has been published in the journal Aging Cell.

Many diseases, including cancer, are associated with ageing and they are becoming more prevalent as life expectancy increases. Therefore, studying and understanding these processes is crucial if we are to deal with these conditions and also promote healthier aging.

With an aging global population, time is of the essence to find novel targets and therapies for age-related diseases.

A research team from Osaka University in Japan has concluded that a clinical trial of transplanted IPS cell-derived corneal tissue was safe and effective – further evidence that cellular reprogramming with Yamanaka factors is moving towards scalable therapies.

Longevity. Technology: The clinical trial spanned several years and used corneal tissues derived from induced pluripotent stem cells. The tissue was transplanted into four almost-blind patients, and, according to the research team, none of the patients experienced rejection or tumorigenicity of the transplanted cells and all saw improvements in their symptoms, with three experiencing improved eyesight, with one improving from 0.15 to 0.7. Importantly, all were free of side effects one year later.

IPS cells can be generated from any adult cell, with Yamanaka factors – a group of protein transcription factors from four master genes. These induced stem cells demonstrate the significant quality of pluripotency – they can differentiate into all other cell types of the body. This is incredibly useful both for research and for therapy.