A Harvard startup is researching how to reverse aging in dogs and humans might be next if they prove successful in their attempts.

One of the world's most prominent synthetic biologists, George Church, has established his own startup, known as Rejuvenate Bio, that will be looking to use gene therapy to reverse aging.

They have already conducted trials on mice and they've started testing on beagles. They claim that they will be able to reverse the aging by adding new DNA instructions to the body. At some point, they eventually plan to move on to human trials.

At the moment, it isn't clear exactly how many dogs they have already tested on or when they might be ready to move on to human trials.

According to Church, he says that the FDA process is going to be a lot faster for the dogs and so once they have started selling that product, the hope is that the funds that are made from selling the pet product, will then be enough to provide the resources for the scaling up so that they can begin human trials.

Trying to prolong the human lifespan is a goal which many scientists have been aggressively working toward for some time.

And according to David Sinclair, a Harvard biologist, he says that the biggest thing that is going to be witnessed in the 21st century is the prolongation of human life. And he asserts that this advance is going to make the work that Elon Musk does 'look fairly pedestrian'.

Though there are others out there who are skeptical of the bold promises, and some say that we still aren't anywhere near being able to achieve that feat; reversing the aging process and prolonging life.

Rejuvenate Bio has received hundreds of thousands in funding from the Department of Defense and those funds are supposed to go toward researching enhanced canine performance for military canines. They've been experimenting with gene therapies that are allegedly able to improve health, lifespan, and stress-resistance. After testing their methods on mice, the plan was to begin the next phase which included canines.

The US pet industry is a multi-billion dollar a year industry and there are no doubt many pet owners out there who would be eager to get their hands on a reverse aging product for their pet that many regard as a member of their own family. And how many more might like to try the product for themselves once human trials (if they do) prove to be successful?

Church has previously suggested that it could still take up to 8 years or more before human trials to conclude.

Pics:
Pixabay

Sources:
https://www.dailydot.com/debug/human-reverse-aging-gene-therapy/
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/611018/a-stealthy-harvard-startup-wants-to-reverse-aging-in-dogs-and-humans-could-be-next/
http://time.com/5209427/aging-nicotinamide-mononucleotide-nmn/
https://steemit.com/science/@doitvoluntarily/new-study-investigates-link-between-idle-lifestyle-and-biological-aging
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180108101341.htm
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180108090132.htm
https://www.salk.edu/news-release/turning-back-time-salk-scientists-reverse-signs-aging/

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