Harnessing the Fountain of Youth Within Us 

Aging can be slowed. Saul Villeda, PhD (above, right), has literally infused new life into old mice by combining their blood with the blood of young mice. In Villeda’s first study, after just one month, the old mice displayed the vigor of mice half their ages as they raced through mazes that tested their cognition. He then sequenced the old mice’s genomes and found changes in genes associated with neuronal plasticity, the brain’s response to learning. The old mice’s neurons made new connections and solidified old ones, enhancing their learning and memory in the process. Villeda, an assistant professor of anatomy, is now zeroing in on which blood factors are responsible for the revitalization. 

He is not alone. Scientists have shown that functional rejuvenation is possible across tissues, including muscle, liver, and brain. The implications are astounding and go far beyond challenging what was once thought to be the inevitable cognitive decline associated with accumulating years. Aging is, in fact, the largest risk factor of disease, so the longer we can stave it off, the longer we may be able to avoid diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disease, and type 2 diabetes and the conditions associated with them. The challenge at hand, as Villeda sees it, is to increase our health span. He aims to extend youth and vitality of mind and body for as long as we possibly can by identifying and slowing the mechanisms of aging.