Young Again

Aging Condition Reversed in Mice

Animal Rights – A recent study on mice with a condition that causes them to rapidly age has found that injecting them with the stem-cells of younger mice slows the process considerably. The procedure has extended the life of some mice up to three times as long as they were estimated to live.

The anti-aging effects are limited to mice with the specific condition, and as such, scientists are advising that people not get too excited about the advancement yet. There is no evidence that suggests that this will work for humans, and, either way, such information is very far off.

As there are people who have already begun what has been termed “stem-cell tourism,” the process of going to various doctors in various countries and being injected with stem-cells in the hope of some miracle cure-all, this advice is unlikely to be heeded by those chasing the fountain of youth.

While the study makes the case for the use of stem-cells in scientific discovery and understanding of life, it is again a case of animal testing done for the benefit of humans at nothing but a cost to the animals themselves.

While improving our lives is important, maybe the best way to do it is by improving the ways we live and the places we live, by tending to a damaged environment, rather than trying to extend our already highly consumptive lives.

Read more at National Geographic.