A Conservative View of Senescent Cell Clearance Research and Development

Today I thought I'd point out publicity materials for recent research from yet another group involved in the search for senolytic drugs to clear senescent cells from the body. The position taken is conservative - at least in part - but that is the style of the formal scientific community. Excitement in print is not the done thing. Nonetheless, it is becoming something of a challenge to hold a very conservative position on clearance of senescent cells as one of the foundations for rejuvenation therapies at the present point in time. It takes some rigor to stand up and say that this may still all go nowhere, and much more needs to be done to prove utility. The evidence in animal studies is robust and compelling, and growing more so with every passing month: extended life spans in mice, slowed and reversed mechanisms for age-related diseases, and measures of tissue aging turned back in specific organs. Behind the animal studies lies decades of evidence to support the role of senescent cells in aging and age-related disease in humans. Maintaining a strongly conservative position until the very last moment is very much a part of the culture of science in our era. No-one is crucified quite so extensively as the scientist who makes bold predictions that then prove incorrect, or even just not entirely correct. The entire scientific community is haunted by the spirits of Pons and Fleischmann, now and for a time yet, but that is merely the easiest of many examples to reach for. ...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs