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Scientists may soon be able to extend human life by 30-35 years
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
Specialists from the Center for Biotechnology and Gene Therapy at the University of Barcelona have managed to create a unique method, which was successfully tested on a group of experimental mice. Geneticists are convinced that human life can be extended by 30-35 years using such technologies, in a realistic and harmless manner.
The experiment involved two groups of animals in the framework of gene therapy, and in both, the scientists achieved a rejuvenating effect: in one, the average lifespan of mice was increased by 24%, in the other - by 13%, compared to standard indicators. According to specialists, the results of the study convincingly prove the possibility of using gene therapy methods in relation to human life. In particular, it allows to significantly delay the onset of most age-related diseases such as osteoporosis and the development of insulin resistance.
The therapy is based on a technology mastered by geneticists to introduce a virus into human DNA that affects telomeres, the components of chromosomes that determine the course of the body's biological clock and are largely responsible for its aging. The virus suppresses telomeres, as a result of which the processes of cellular renewal occur more intensively, and the aging mechanism slows down significantly. But this process cannot be carried out indefinitely - only until the telomeres finally lose the ability to perform their immediate functions. The time reserve that allows you to keep them in check is 30-35 years - this is exactly the period by which, with the right approach, the average life expectancy of a person can be increased, geneticists believe. What is especially impressive: this difference would not fall on the years of old age, but would be evenly distributed throughout the entire life path.
The problem is that testing on humans is a very difficult ethical dilemma. Telomeres are present in the human body only before birth and in the first few months of life, and there are only two types of cells in which such DNA types can be detected: stem cells and cancer cells. Paradoxically, it is telomeres, which can make dreams of eternal youth a reality, that give cancer cells amazing vitality and allow them to grow and multiply forever.
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