The quest for immortality is a story as old as stories themselves. There's the Holy Grail, the Fountain of Youth, French scribe Nicholas Flamel, Gilgamesh. Humanity craves immortality so much that religion promises it. Most of these stories end in horror, but that hasn't stopped researchers from looking into anti-aging.
As it so happens, researchers at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya and the University of Leicester may have broken the code. While the scientists haven't found the secret of immortality, it's believed they can slow down the aging process.
Anti-aging antibodies discovered in new research
Published in Science Resorts, via Phys.org, the dual-university research team has developed anti-aging antibodies. Designed to target aging living cells, these “smart bomb” style antibodies lock onto specific proteins and removes them.
The antibodies are designed after existing cancer therapies. However, the promising research is proposed as a deterrent to Alzheimer's, fibrosis, type 2 diabetes and the aging process. As such, the research aims to help make life more comfortable for people the older they get.
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Fighting cellular senescence
As humans get older, the body begins cellular senescence, slowing down the reproduction of damaged cells. This is an important step in the aging process: senescence limits the growth of cancers, but obviously reduces the body's remaining years.
The anti-aging antibodies’ purpose of stopping senescence while fighting negative proteins is essential. If the drug didn't fight those specific proteins, the body would reproduce cells, but those cells would have a larger chance of being cancerous.
This research isn't the only anti-aging research taking place right now. The United States military is currently looking into the technology to allow soldiers to stay younger for longer. Additionally, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is funding similar research in Silicon Valley.
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