Hype aside demonstration that epigentic reprogramming can reverse some of the aging process is an important step forward for progress. We can expect to see this moving to human trials in the next decade or so making the future an exciting possibility.

Science is increasingly coming to the conclussion that aging is amenable to intervention and that it is a plastic process that we can manipulate. More research in this week shows that aging is indeed elastic and is not a one way process at all. The sooner society accepts what the data from the labs is showing the sooner we can cure age-related diseases for healthier longer lives!

“We did not correct the mutation that causes premature aging in these mice,” lead researcher Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte said in a recent statement. “We altered aging by changing the epigenome, suggesting that aging is a plastic process.”

Progress with treating osteoporosis.

A team of scientists at the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) discovered a new bone-forming growth factor, Osteolectin (Clec11a), which reverses osteoporosis in mice and has implications for regenerative medicine.

Although Osteolectin is known to be made by certain bone marrow and bone cells, CRI researchers are the first to show Osteolectin promotes the formation of new bone from skeletal stem cells in the bone marrow. The study, published in eLife, also found that deletion of Osteolectin in mice causes accelerated bone loss during adulthood and symptoms of osteoporosis, such as reduced bone strength and delayed fracture healing.

“These results demonstrate the important role Osteolectin plays in new bone formation and maintaining adult bone mass. This study opens up the possibility of using this growth factor to treat diseases like osteoporosis,” said Dr. Sean Morrison, who led the team that made the discovery. Dr. Morrison, CRI Director, holds the Mary McDermott Cook Chair in Pediatric Genetics at UT Southwestern Medical Center, and the Kathryne and Gene Bishop Distinguished Chair in Pediatric Research at Children’s Research Institute at UT Southwestern.