There have been many cartoons made about characters who drink from a cup containing water from the ‘Fountain of Youth’, for example, and suddenly shrink and become little kids – or even babies – again. Then there have been movies where the characters’ roles reverse and the grown-up enters their child’s body and vice versa.
So many creative works romanticise about the idea of turning back the clock and experiencing youth again.
The other day I saw a post on social media which had the ages of the parents in the sitcoms which I grew up with. I was amazed to realise that many of these 1980s and 1990s sitcom parents were much younger than I remembered them being. Characters who seemed firmly middle-aged were actually only in their 30s or early 40s! For example, Cliff Huxtable and Clair Huxtable from The Cosby Show were generally portrayed as being in their late 30s to early 40s. On Home Improvement, Tim Taylor and Jill Taylor were around their late 30s!
Then there’s my favourite sitcom, Full House. Danny Tanner from Full House was likely in his mid-30s when the series began! Surprised? I know I was. Hairstyles, clothing, and make-up styles of the era tended to make adults look older by today’s standards.
Reading this got me thinking. What if when our children are our age, they look a whole lot younger than we do now? Only, not because of clothing and hairstyle choices, but because technology has advanced so much that they are able to halt ageing to a degree?
News reports this week suggest that certain scientists are already entertaining this line of thinking.
In June this year, biotechnology company Life Biosciences announced a milestone that many scientists once considered science fiction: the first human patient has received an experimental therapy specifically designed to reverse aspects of cellular ageing! The treatment, known as ER-100, uses a technique called partial cellular reprogramming to encourage damaged cells to behave more like younger versions of themselves.
The first trial participant received the therapy as part of a study targeting age-related vision loss caused by optic nerve damage.
While the treatment is focused on eye disease rather than whole-body rejuvenation, the implications reach far beyond vision. If scientists can safely restore youthful function to ageing cells, a profound question emerges: What if ageing itself eventually becomes a treatable medical condition? Such a shift could transform medicine, healthcare policy, insurance systems, and even the way society defines health.
The therapy being tested by Life Biosciences builds on decades of research into cellular reprogramming. Scientists discovered that introducing specific proteins, known as Yamanaka factors, can reset aspects of a cell’s biological age. In animal studies, this process has restored function to damaged tissues and even reversed some signs of ageing.
According to Life Biosciences, ER-100 represents the first clinical attempt to test whether this concept can work safely in humans. “This is the first-ever epigenetic restoration candidate approved for clinical trials, and if successful, treatment with ER-100 would be the first time cells have been rejuvenated in humans,” the company stated.
The science behind this focuses on epigenetics. These are the biological instructions which tell genes when to switch on or off. Over time, these instructions become increasingly disorganised. Some longevity researchers believe that much of what we call ageing may actually be the accumulation of epigenetic errors. If those errors can be corrected, ageing may no longer be viewed as an inevitable decline but as a biological process that can be slowed, halted, or partially reversed.
Despite the excitement, significant scientific hurdles remain. Cellular reprogramming has produced remarkable results in laboratory animals, but researchers remain cautious about potential risks. One concern is cancer. The same mechanisms that encourage cells to become younger could theoretically cause uncontrolled growth if not carefully regulated.
To address these concerns, Life Biosciences designed ER-100 using only three of the traditional Yamanaka factors and incorporated a drug-controlled safety switch intended to stop the process if problems arise. The current trial is primarily evaluating safety rather than proving widespread rejuvenation. Researchers will need years of data before determining whether cellular reprogramming can safely become part of mainstream medicine.
What would you do if you could be your younger self for just one day? What do you know now that you wish you had known then?
From my side, I remember how hard I was on myself, which women tend to be, and how every imagined flaw in my appearance seemed larger than life. Now I look at photos of myself and realise how young and sparkling I was. I wish I had known that then. Still, I would not trade what I have now for what I had then. I have found the years have brought me treasures that money can’t buy. I have had to climb some mountains to find those treasures but there are things I understand now, faith that has been built, the shaping of my heart by so many experiences, including motherhood, and the knowledge that I can go through challenges and survive. These have all changed the way I perceive myself and the reflection I see in the mirror.
I believe there will be many breakthroughs in health and medicine which will change people’s lives for the better in the future. I know life for my son as an adult will look different to how it looks for my generation. How adults will look when his generation comes of age, I can only imagine. But when that time comes, may he celebrate the person he sees looking back at him when he looks in the mirror, for many reasons.