Does the “cure” for aging come in a face cream?

For this year’s blog carnival, I asked our illustrious group of bloggers, academics and thought leaders to discuss this statement by David Sinclair, a director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging Research at Harvard Medical School: “Aging is far more reversible than we thought.”

It’s an interesting statement. In my life so far and in my experience, aging moves in one direction only. I can see small wrinkles appearing on my face, I’m experiencing aches and pains that never existed when I was younger, and my inability to remember information is worrying. And thanks to Zoom and other virtual meeting tools, I’m now aware of lines on my neck that never concerned me before. What’s that all about?!

Of course I’m not alone and the same is happening with my peers. In my parents’ generation, the signs of aging are much more pronounced. I don’t see any evidence that people are getting (physically) better as they age, Jennifer Lopez and a few others being the exception.

As we know, regenerative medicine is all about repairing, regenerating and replacing diseased cells, tissues and organs to treat and cure diseases. The progress we’ve seen in the last decade is very exciting. While we may associate regenerative medicine with recently approved cell and gene therapies for certain types of cancer and retinal diseases, there’s also a booming and still growing “cosmeceutical” industry. Thanks to biomaterials, we may be able to replace our skin in the future to make our appearance more youthful.

Delving into the cosmeceutical industry is just one way of interpreting David Sinclair’s statement, and I’ve barely scratched the surface. The participants in this year’s blog carnival bring their own unique takes on the topic of aging. I encourage you to read all the great posts below and to share your own thoughts by submitting a comment.

If you know Michael May, President and CEO of CCRM, you’ll recognize his positive and optimistic stance in this humorous and forward-looking post: Thinking about longevity makes me feel old.

Courtesy of Stem Cell Network, Professor Stephanie Willerth, University of Victoria, tackles neurodegenerative diseases associated with aging. She explores this year’s blog carnival topic in: Can 3D printing reverse aging?

Professor Fabio Rossi, University of British Columbia, argues that preventing aging will be simpler than reversing it and he shares the secret to extending life expectancy. Spoiler alert: you know the answer already and it isn’t easy. Read: Is aging more reversible than we thought?

This year’s blog carnival topic is very timely, if the next post is any indication. Medicine by Design’s Julie Crljen writes that one of the short-listed grand questions coming out of their Grand Questions Program is in the area of senescence and aging. Let’s see what she has to say about this in: Healthier aging: Ending chronic disease through regeneration.

Chih Wei Teng, Chief Operations Officer for CCRM Australia, is contributing again to this year’s blog carnival and joined this time by Rupal Pichholiya, a post-graduate student at Monash University. They explore whether aging is a disease in: Anti-aging therapies may have settled the argument of whether aging is a disease.

Signals is fortunate to have Professor David Kent, University of York, as a regular blogger and contributor to the blog carnivals. What I love about the blog carnivals is the variety of opinions, and Dr. Kent doesn’t disappoint. Read his take in: Reversing aging: Not just a single system to consider…

Tara Fernandez is a science writer, and regular blogger and contributor to the blog carnivals. She always submits great copy! What does she think about our topic? You’ll have to read her post: New gene therapy shows promise, but is it enough to reverse aging?

If you like what you read above, Signals has more blog carnivals.

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Stacey Johnson

Stacey Johnson is the editor of Signals and a contributor. For 25 years, Stacey has been providing strategic communications counsel to government, corporate, technology and health organizations. She began her career at the CTV Television Network and then moved to Hill & Knowlton Canada where she advised clients in a variety of industries and sectors. Stacey is the Vice President, Communications and Marketing for CCRM, a leader in developing and commercializing regenerative medicine-based technologies and cell and gene therapies. She has a Master's degree in Public Relations. You can follow her on Twitter @msstaceyerin.

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