Harvard researchers say they’ve discovered a chemical cocktail they believe can reverse the aging process, a discovery that could lead to a “fountain of youth” pill.
Harvard researcher David Sinclair shared his findings, published in the July issue of the medical journal Aging, in a series of Twitter posts this week.
“We have already shown that it is possible to reverse the aging process by using gene therapy to activate embryonic genes,” he first recalled in his 17-tweet thread.
“Today we show that it can be done with chemical cocktails, which is a step towards affordable full-body rejuvenation,” he added.
We are pleased to share with you our latest publication: We have previously shown that age reversal is possible by activating embryonic genes through gene therapy. Now we show that it is possible with chemical cocktails, a step towards affordable total body rejuvenation 1/17 https://t.co/J9c01lv5FQ
— David Sinclair (@davidasinclair) July 12, 2023
The genetics professor and author of Lifespan explained that he and his team at Harvard Medical School worked for more than three years to find molecules that could combine to reverse cell aging and rejuvenate human cells.
Through experiments in mice and monkeys, they were able to identify six chemical cocktails that can “reverse” the visual signs of aging “in less than a week,” Sinclair said.
“Studies of the optic nerve, brain tissue, kidney and muscle have shown promising results, with improved vision and longer lifespans in mice and recently, in April this year, improved vision in monkeys,” he said.
Noting that researchers are preparing to conduct clinical trials of the therapy in humans, he acknowledged other researchers are in the running “to show that the chemicals can rejuvenate cells, as gene therapy does.” “