Researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute have...

Researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute have recently shown that a protein called GDF11 has the power to rejuvenate not only the muscles, but also skeletal and brain activity of mice. The researchers in question, Amy Wagers and Lee Rubin, are both heavily involved in the investigation of stem cells, and have been established among such standards for good reason. About 15 years ago, Wager conducted an experiment observing the circulation of blood from a young mouse through an older mouse, with what seemed to be slight revival in the restoration of muscles. From there, last year Wagers and Rubin examined the effects of GDF11 on mice, first by means of a para-biotic system resonant of the one used in the prior experiment. The next step†¦show more content†¦They have been compared to the introduction of antibiotics 70 years ago. As controversial as they are though, these investigations will be slow, their correct use will require trials, and their power also carries the p ower of misuse. One way or another, stem cells will be play a vital role in scientific development in years to come. In the spectrum of these cells is GDF11. GDF11 will, at some point, be clinically administered to humans, and it thought to have the power to slow Alzheimer’s and increase rate of neurogenesis. This research builds on centuries of conjectures that the blood of youths contains agents which might replenish that of an elder. When the first para-biotic test was administered with this purpose in the 1950s by Clive McCay, they found that the cartilage of the older mice had strengthened. At the time, there was still little known about how the body restores itself, and the results were not fully understood. It later became clear that stem cells are essential for keeping tissues vital. When tissues are damaged, stem cells move in and produce new cells to replace the dying ones. As people get older, their stem cells gradually falter. In the 2000s it was found that the stem cells were not dying off in aging tissues, but in fact thriving there, yet were not receiving the correct signals to operate. It was observed in the trials that the elder mice were once more youthful, while the attached younger mice were effectively growing old,