Anglais-Rédaction: Can we reverse the ageing process? Will man ever become immortal?

ENGLISH

Can we reverse the ageing process? Will man ever become immortal?

Introduction

1. Advances
2. Problems
3. Example: Alzheimer’s disease

Conclusion

Introduction (71 words)

Today, many scientists lead researches with the aim of stopping the process of ageing or at least minimize the impact of the ageing on the population.

Wyss-Coray, a professor of neurology at Stanford University, was leading a young group of researchers who studied ageing and neurodegeneration. With some of his colleagues and some of his students, he led diverse experiments allowing to show that the process of ageing could be reversed.

1. Advances (155 words)

With his colleague Thomas Rando, they lead an experiment on mice. At first, they have to find a pair of surgically conjoined mice. They joined old and young mice. The young blood activated stem cells in the old mice. They noticed that damaged tissues are regenerated. However, for the young mice, they noticed that their stem cells became slower and that their tissues were cured less faster.

Wyss-Coray also experienced with his student Saul Villeda, based on the same principle, then they studied the reactions of both bodies. For example, they injected a virus in the old mouse. The “young blood” was able to reduce the effects of this virus. After studies more elaborate, it was shown that the “young blood” is in association with various enzymes and proteins, which allow a better protection of the body (CREB, oxytocin…). Several researchers led various experiences and this revealed encouraging results. However, this is not without consequences.

1. Problems

The experiment did on mice gave good results, but researchers  need to go further. This require to extract protein contain into young plasma and injecte this protein into old mice. But it’s not easy, indeed this work need to siphon the blood from 50 young mice to only do 10 injections into 10 old mice. Furthermore, experiment did on mice must be prove in humans, to be accepted by the scientific community. Effectively, editors are sceptical and rejected the study in 2012, because they felt the work was not a big enough leap forward. But following this, many researchers have worked on ageing process, and several discoveries have been made in recent years.

Some of these scientists have pointed the limits of this research. Therefore, they suspect that young plasma is certainly less effective in people than in mice, because humans live so much longer, and in far more varied environments. In addition, toying with the ageing process might be dangerous, since to inject pro-youthful proteins into people for years could end up giving them cancer. Finally, the goal of this research it’s about healthy living, not longer living.

1. Example: Alzheimer’s disease

To highlight these discrepencies, as an example we will talk about Alzheimer’s disease. This is a neuro-degenerative illness that affects old people. It is due to the ageing process. Lots of searchers try to cure this pathology, like Wyss-Coray’s.  They take as an experience the model of mice. Several solutions were found to cure mice. However, it did not cure humans because of the form of the disease. Indeed, Wyss-Coray’s team has transfered young mice plasma to an old one, that has allowed to reverse the brain ageing process of old mice. Nowadays, this experience cannot be test on people. Actually, we do not know how an individual will respond to this experience, because  there are numerous factors which could induce negative feedbacks.

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