Scientists Reversed 60 Years of Cellular Aging. Can It Work in Humans?

Researchers at the University of Bonn in Germany converted immature blood cells from an 80-year-old directly into neural stem cells and used epigenetic clocks, which track DNA changes associated with aging, to find that more than 60 years of molecular aging appeared reversed, with cells registering younger than 20. Led by Oliver Brüstle, the method skipped an intermediate stem-cell stage used in earlier techniques, allowing gradual rejuvenation to be tracked for over 100 days. Separately, Life Biosciences reported that three glaucoma patients tolerated its eye treatment ER-100 through 56 days, with two showing preliminary vision-test improvements in a tiny, uncontrolled safety trial released October 8. The Bonn experiment has not established whether the process can safely treat disease in people.