Fountain of Youth Fresco in San Miniato, Pisa. Image from Wikimedia Commons

What if someone discovered a cure for aging, but it could only be administered to those younger than 30?

It would split my family in half.

What would it be like to have a sibling just a few year younger who did not age? I like to think I would be happy for my brothers. But twinges of jealousy would happen.

Yet would it be even harder for the people who didn’t age? Watching the older generations fade away would lead to survivor’s guilt.

In the field of life extension, we keep discovering promising proteins. SIRT6 is a “first responder” to stress that sets DNA repair in motion. If we can increase SIRT6 we may be able to repair aging related damage faster than it accrues. But could we fix damage that happened many years ago?

Integrin Beta 3 is a protein that until recently wasn’t well understood. It is produced in older cells. Recent studies link it to inflammation and it may even signal nearby cells to stop replicating and start aging.  Cilengitide is a medicine that is known to reduce Integrin Beta 3. Now we have a better idea what Integrin Beta 3 does, maybe it will lead to the Fountain of Youth in pill form. But if it turns out that fountain is preventative, not restorative, be prepared for heartache.

Sources:

Protein found that initiates DNA repair

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160909112258.htm

New protein discovered in aging, cancer

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170307131013.htm