Scientists from Harvard and Stanford are in agreement that feeling younger could be as simple as a blood transfusion. In three separate trials, the researchers unilaterally agree that injecting elderly mice with blood from younger mice rejuvenates their brains and muscles and reverses some signs of aging.
Two separate teams of scientists—one at the University of California, San Francisco and one at Harvard—published a series of findings this weekend cataloguing the positive effects of GDF11, a protein found in young blood.
Researchers have been testing GDF11 in mice for years, focusing mainly on its positive effects on the heart. But the results from the most recent studies are dramatic: older mice were able to navigate mazes faster, run longer on treadmills, and demonstrated a better sense of smell. And the reverse appeared to be true as well—young mice injected with old blood had noticeable difficulties afterwards.
PROOF THAT WE MUST HARVEST THE BLOOD OF THE YOUNG by Gabrielle Bluestone, Gawker
