As a biologist, I am interested in how aging happens. I'm not directly working on it, but do read some relevant papers out of curiosity.
Following paper appeared in a prestigious journal Nature in 2011 November. It's about recent mice-based research that shed light on aging process.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22048312
The researchers ingeniously eliminated cells that are senescent (=non-proliferative; "aged") and expressing a certain marker protein (called p16INK4A in case you are interested) from the bodies of progeroid mice. These progeroid mice carry a mutation and show signs of aging at early age (hunchback, cataract , artery hardening etc). But surprise. The elimination of senescent cells actually made the progeroid mice "younger".
Their paper suggests that at least a part of aging process is caused by senescent cells in the tissue. The researchers speculate that senescent cells are secreting some factors that are detrimental to tissue/organ functions.
The paper was "the coolest paper in 2011" in my personal nomination.
The other day I read news, "A 26-year-old Vietnamese woman has left doctors baffled as she lost her once youthful appearance"
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/mystery-allergy-causes-woman-to-age-decades.html
After a severe allergy attack and some attempts of herbal medicine, a 26-years old woman mysteriously started looking like an old woman.
Why?
My speculation is that, because of her severe allergy (and wrong kind of traditional medicine, perhaps), extensive cellular damage happened. Damaged cells probably got eliminated to some extent, but some might have ended up with "senescent" cells. They do not proliferate, but they start secreting factors that "age" surrounding tissues.
Of course her case is open to many more hypotheses. But if this speculation is correct, and if we find out ways to eradicate senescent cells (two big IFs), we may be able to cure her condition, or we may be able to get "younger". Biology is fun. Seriously.
