Hope for creaky old humans: Removing aged cells from mice can restore their youth, study finds

If creaky old humans were more like dilapidated old kitchens, rejuvenation would be as simple as replacing cracked and faded Formica with gleaming new granite. But perhaps, a booming new scientific field hypothesizes, biological renovation might be more possible than one might expect.

The field, called “senolytics,” studies compounds that might kill senescent cells, which have become dysfunctional due to aging yet, paradoxically, refuse to die.  published on Monday suggests the approach might actually work one day: When scientists at the Mayo Clinic eliminated senescent cells from old mice, not only did the animals’ lifespan increase but so did their “healthspan.” That is, during their extra