By introducing an enzyme, telomerase, into rodents, Harvard scientists "reversed the aging process". That's what passes for "news reporting" these days.
Had they actually reversed the aging process, then quite obviously, old animals would have reverted to babies or perhaps embyos, set to start life anew. Of course, that isn't what happened.
Some older organs appeared to regenerate, rather than continuing to degenerate. That's interesting, but even that modest gain doesn't necessarily translate to humans. In humans, an increase in telomerase is a hallmark of most cancers.
Don't pop the cork on the celebratory champaign just yet.
This is indeed a great world.
We've cured cancer in mice, we've cured lots of other diseases in mice, now we're treating them to live much longer......
It's a great world ... for mice.
(Except that I read now and again that to test the outcomes, we have to cut them up into tiny little bits.)
For "reverse the aging process", see F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button".
Posted by: ZZMike | November 30, 2010 at 04:29 PM