![]() Could studying zombie cells be the key to living a longer life? The mice that were treated also usually looked healthier than those that weren’t treated and were more likely to have spontaneous activity and explore things-signs of youth. In follow-up research, the team found that treating mice to remove zombie cells extended their median lifespans by 17% to 42%, depending on the mice’s sex, diet, and genetic background. Van Deursen and his team discovered that injecting a certain drug triggered the death of these zombie cells. Landmark research from Jan van Deursen, Ph.D., of the Mayo Clinic actually removed zombie cells from living mice. Research has found that tinkering with these cells can help extend life-in mice, at least. “Your immune system gets rid of these cells when you’re young but, when you get older, it can’t clear them as effectively,” Dr. Zombie cells become more common as people age. “Your burden of cells increases with age and older people or people with chronic diseases may have more.”Ĭells stop dividing after they’ve divided so many times or acquire so many mutations that they’re at risk of becoming abnormal or potentially making you sick, the NIH says. “I would hypothesize that yes, everyone has these cells,” Dr. Robbins says, senescence is seen as an anti-cancer mechanism because it stops cells that may have become abnormal from continuing to replicate. They’ve also been linked to the growth of cancerous cells, per the NIH. These cells release certain molecules that can spark inflammation and even harm other cells, Dr. “They don’t die-they become resistant to death,” says researcher Paul Robbins, Ph.D., associate director of the Institute on the Biology of Aging and Metabolism and the Medical Discovery Team on the Biology of Aging at the University of Minnesota. Zombie cells simply stick around in your body. But, as you get older, your immune system doesn’t have as large of a capacity to do this. When you’re younger, your immune system spots these cells and eliminates them from your body, Sabrina Barata, M.D., a primary care doctor at Mercy Personal Physicians, explains. Zombie cells, aka senescent cells, are cells that stop dividing, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). When mitosis isn’t regulated correctly, you can develop health problems like cancer. There is a process called mitosis, which is a fundamental process for life, where a cell duplicates all of its contents and splits to form two identical cells, Medline Plus explains. It’s important to quickly recap how cells in your body work. ![]() But, of course, you probably have some-or a lot of-questions about what these are and what role they play in aging. If you’ve never heard of zombie cells before, fair. This isn’t the only research on zombie cells: Scientists have been analyzing these cells and their role in aging for years. The study found the oxidative damage (damage that happens as a result of an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in your body) to telomeres, the protective ends of chromosomes, can spark the formation of zombie cells.
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