Stem cell boost slows down ageing

• Autores: Jessica Hamzelou
• Localización: New scientist, ISSN 0262-4079, Nº. 3136, 2017, pág. 8
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Dongsheng Cai at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York has been investigating the role of the brain in aging, since it controls most of humans' bodily functions. His team previously found that the hypothalamus, which releases hormones that affect other organs, seems to affect how mice age. By interfering with a molecular pathway in the hypothalamus, the team extended the lifespan of mice by 20%. Although stem cells in the hypothalamus create new neurons throughout life, the team noticed that mice start losing them in middle age--about 10 or 11 months old. By the time mice are 2 years old--around 70 in human years--the cells are basically all gone, says Cai.