Getting older is a fact of life. As we age, we can grow bigger, smarter and stronger. But at a certain point, our bodies often start to slow down. The idea behind why we age and why our bodies slow down is that we start to lose the ability to make enough energy to support all the different functions that our body carries out.

Hazel H. Szeto, MD, PhD, is a medical doctor and a research scientist. She may have found the answer to reversing the aging process by restoring a person’s ability to make energy. Szeto presented her work last month at Experimental Biology 2021.

To better understand Szeto’s discovery, we must first understand how the body makes energy. We produce energy in the form of a small molecule called adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. When ATP is broken down, it releases energy that allows our bodies to do work, such as contracting the muscles in our arms and legs so we can lift a box. Mitochondria are small structures in the cells that make ATP from the food we eat.