February 18, 2025
Free Flow Thinking: Can we Reverse the Aging Process in People?
When I first became interested in aging and the progress scientists have made in finding a way to stop and even reverse the effects of aging several years ago, I suppose I must have found something like five maybe ten articles at the most online about the topic. Today, when performing a similar search immediately came up with twenty-eight pages of links in Google about the topic. It’s a testament to how a once obscure area of scientific study has become mainstream. I can only imagine what family, friends, and acquaintances must have thought when I shared some of what I had learned at the time with them. Most likely wrote it off as nonsense I’d picked-up on the Internet and had been gullible enough to believe, ha, ha.
It’s easy to understand I suppose. After all, some of the claims seemed outlandish at the time. For example, I recall one article at the time centered around an experiment done a decade ago, in which two mice were used as part of an experiment. In the experiment one of the mice was treated while the other was not. The “treated” mouse began looking and behaving as any young mouse would, while the other mouse, still racked with arthritis and other ravages of extreme old age moved slowly and only with great difficulty. Both mice were of the same age.
So as I prepare for the release of my novel, Eternity, which releases on March 20th and deals with this very subject, I thought it a fitting time to check back on progress and where science stands today, in 2023. I’m no scientist, I’m only a layman, but I have learned a few things.
First
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- We are getting closer and closer to the point where doctors will be able to prescribe a medication specifically to extend either lifespan, healthspan, or both. Healthspan refers to “the period of life spent in good health, free from the chronic diseases and disabilities of aging.”
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Second
Scientists are getting closer to understanding how to not only slow or even stop the aging process, they are also getting closer to being able to reverse it.
Third
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- It seems more and more that two primary factors will drive a “cure to aging.”
Manipulation of the Yamanaka factors -As defined by the Salk Institute below:
Scientists know that adding a mixture of four reprogramming molecules—Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and cMyc, also known as “Yamanaka factors”—to cells can reset these epigenetic marks to their original patterns. This approach is how researchers can dial back adult cells, developmentally speaking, into stem cells.
https://www.salk.edu/news-release/cellular-rejuvenation-therapy-safely-reverses-signs-of-aging-in-mice/
Fourth
There are some medications available today that scientists suggest appear to extend the lifespan and healthspan of human beings, namely metformin and rapamycin.
Epigenetics, age-reversal, and the exciting, groundbreaking work being done is fascinating and is very exciting stuff.
Look, I don’t know where this is going much less the implications for those of us of faith, the impact on world resources, etc. I do know, however, that the exciting news over at SpaceX and humanity’s stepping out into the cosmos couldn’t have happened at a much better time.
There is more to come!
Want to know more now? Click on the links below, or search for “age-reversal” on the Internet!
Scientists reversed aging in mice. Is it possible in humans?
By Corrie Pelc on January 24, 2023 — Fact checked by Rita Ponce, P
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/rheumatoid-arthritis-drug-may-help-slow-the-effects-of-aging-on-blood-production
Brief exposure to rapamycin has the same anti-aging effects as lifelong treatment, shows study in fruit flies and mice
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220829112829.htm
Is reverse aging already possible? Drugs that could treat aging might already be on the pharmacy shelves
https://fortune.com/well/2023/02/23/reverse-aging-breakthroughs-in-science/
A Drug to Treat Aging May Not Be a Pipe Dream
New approaches to the biology of senescence can make lives longer and healthier.
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/aging-disease-biology
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My latest novel, Eternity happens to be about such a scientist, who discovers the key to immortality
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Here’s the vital info:Frontmatter: David Winters’ intellect is the greatest the modern world has ever known. He snatched fully functioning nanites right off the pages of science-fiction and made them a reality. His latest discovery, however, will make the nanites pale in comparison, and he’s going to give this one to the world. With such a powerful impact on civilization and on the Earth itself, will Winters’ latest discovery lead to an incredible new beginning for humanity, or will it usher in its downfall?
Below are links to Eternity in case you decide you’d like to give it a try. I hope you will!
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBYkdHUrah8
- To Claim a Review Copy: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/review-copy/view/107440/eternity
- Goodreads: Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/108515604-eternity
You can find all of Jeff’s published novels here: Works by Jeff W. Horton | The Horton Library
Please follow Jeff:
- Blog: Subscribe to his blog! http://hortonlibrary.com. Tell your friends about it!
- Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-w-horton-a8378674/
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- You might also want to explore Jeff’s website: at www.hortonlibrary.com
Re-posted from 2/26/2023