Ricercatori dell'Università della California a Los Angeles sono riusciti a ringiovanire e prolungare del 20% la vita di alcuni moscerini. Gli studiosi, i cui risultati sono stati pubblicati sulla rivista Nature Communications, hanno ottenuto questo risultato grazie ad una "macchina del tempo", in grado di rallentare l’invecchiamento delle cellule.
In pratica, la tecnica utilizzata consente l'eliminazione delle "batterie" scariche delle cellule, ovvero i mitocondri danneggiati, che altrimenti tenderebbero ad accumularsi con effetti tossici nel cervello, nei muscoli e negli altri organi. Il risultato apre nuovi scenari nella prevenzione delle malattie legate all'età, come il cancro, l'alzheimer, il parkinson e l'ictus.
La strada per arrivare all'uomo però è ancora lunga, avvertono gli scienziati, dal momento che la tecnica è stata testata solo sul moscerino della frutta, uno dei modelli animali più usati negli studi sull'invecchiamento a causa della facilità con cui è possibile seguire il suo ciclo vitale, lungo appena due mesi.
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