Menu

Blog

Nov 30, 2024

What’s the secret to living to 100? Centenarian stem cells could offer clues

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics

From the article:

Scientists in Boston, Massachusetts have made reprogrammed stem cells from the blood of centenarians.


Centenarians offer an opportunity to study longevity. People who’ve lived to 100 have an amazing ability to bounce back from insult and injury, says George Murphy, a stem-cell biologist at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. One centenarian he knows recovered from the 1912 Spanish flu and COVID-19, twice. One theory that explains centenarians’ robust age is that they possess a genetic makeup that protects them from diseases.

But testing that idea is a challenge. People of that age are rare, which makes blood and skin samples from them a precious resource for research. That gave Murphy and his colleagues the idea to create a bank of centenarian cells that could be shared among scientists.

Leave a reply