科學家實現老鼠衰老逆轉 延長人類壽命成爲可能

An end to grey hair and crows-feet could be just 10 years away after scientists showed it is possible to reverse ageing in animals.

科學家已經在動物身上實現了逆轉衰老的可能，也許再過十年，灰白的頭髮和眼角的魚尾紋都將成爲過去式。

Using a new technique which takes adult cells back to their embryonic form, US researchers at the Salk Institute in California, showed it was possible to reverse ageing in mice, allowing the animals to not only look younger, but live for 30 per cent longer.

加利福尼亞索爾克研究所的美國研究員們用一項新技術將老化的細胞恢復到其胚胎形式，在實驗鼠上實現了逆轉衰老的可能，這讓老鼠不僅看起來更年輕，更是延長了其本身1/3的壽命。

The technique involves stimulating four genes which are particularly active during development in the womb. It was also found to work to turn the clock back on human skin cells in the lab, making them look and behave younger.

這項技術涉及到對子宮中發育尤其旺盛的四種基因的刺激，實驗中還發現它能將人類皮膚細胞的生物鐘往回撥，從而看起來更年輕，行爲動作也更年輕態。

Scientists hope to eventually create a drug which can mimic the effect of the found genes which could be taken to slow down, and even reverse the ageing process. They say it will take around 10 years to get to human trials.

科學家希望能發明出一種藥物，能模仿這四種基因所產生的效果，減緩老化，甚至逆轉整個衰老過程，實現返老還童。他們表示，這項研究可能會需要十年的時間才能運用到人體實驗上。

"Obviously, mice are not humans and we know it will be much more complex to rejuvenate a person. But this study shows that ageing is a very dynamic and plastic process, and therefore will be more amenable to therapeutic interventions than what we previously thought." said Dr Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, a professor in Salk's Gene Expression Laboratory.

索爾克基因表達實驗室的教授胡安·卡洛斯·伊斯皮蘇亞·貝爾蒙特先生表示：“很顯然，老鼠不是人類，使人恢復到年輕狀態要複雜得多。但是研究表明，衰老的過程是動態的而且具有可塑性，因此介入治療比我們之前考慮到的更加可行。”

The breakthrough could also help people stay healthier for longer. The ageing population means that the risk of developing age-related diseases, such as dementia, cancer and heart disease also rises.

這項突破性的進展也能幫助人類保持更長久的健康狀態。老齡化人羣面臨着患老齡化階段疾病的風險，像癡呆，癌症等疾病，患心臟病的風險也在增加。

But if the body could be kept younger for longer then it could prevent many deadly diseases for decades.

但如果人體能保持長久的年輕狀態，就能預防許多致命疾病的發生，將發病時間推遲幾十年。