Because of the central importance of tissue repair to all organisms, Neves assumed that many of the mechanisms behind it would be shared among all animals. So she started looking at proteins produced by immune cells in the well-known animal model of the fruit fly.

She discovered that a poorly-understood protein known as MANF (mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor) plays a crucial role in reducing inflammation in fruit flies. More importantly, she found that mice and humans also produce it, and its prevalence reduces in all the species as they age, suggesting it plays a key role in limiting age-related inflammation.

That prompted her to see if introducing MANF would boost the effectiveness of stem cell treatments in older animals. She used the protein in combination with a procedure that uses stem cells to replace degenerating photoreceptors in the retina of older mice and found it greatly improved the restoration of vision.

Scientists who study the biology of Aging agreed that we would someday be able to slow down the aging process substantially.

Dr. Aubrey de Grey, Chief Science Officer at SENS Research Foundation and VP of New Technology Discovery at AgeX Therapeutics believes that the critical biomedical technology required to eliminate aging derived debilitation and death is now within reach.

In his book “Ending Aging” he and his research assistant Michael Rae described the details of this biotechnology. They explained that the Aging of the human body, just like the Aging of manmade machines, results from an accumulation of various types of damage. As with manmade machines, this damage can periodically be repaired, leading to the indefinite extension of the machines fully functional lifetime just as is routinely done with classic cars.