密歇根新闻广播 储存干细胞 寻找青春之泉

The Next Idea

Could the ancient search for the Fountain of Youth lead to Ann Arbor¹?

That's where a company called Forever Labs is working to solve the universal problem of getting old.

Its solution: store your stem cells when you're a young adult so you can use them as you age.

Forever Labs CEO Steven Clausnitzer? and president Mark Katakowski? joined us today to talk about their plan, how stem cells work in our bodies, and why Southeast Michigan is fertile ground for companies such as theirs.

For a quick stem cells crash course, Katakowski explained that we have stem cells in just about every tissue of our bodies.

"They replace and they rejuvenate² the tissue," he said. "Basically all systems of your body are replenished³ by stem cells to some degree."

The number of stem cells in our bodies decreases over time, along with their level of activity and "therapeutic⁴ potential," he said. While that does reduce their immediate⁵ usefulness within the body, Katakowski told us this diminishing functionality is actually part of a defense⁶ mechanism⁷ against cancer.

"As cells get older, they get damaged," he said. "It's part of this natural process as cells grow older, the stem cells that have all this potential, that they start to decline in number and just kind of turn off over time."

Clausnitzer told us what they're doing at Forever Labs can be thought of as a kind of "stem cell time travel."

"What we're doing is we're storing that ability that you have which is amazing when we're younger and diminishes as you get older," Clausnitzer said. "We take your bone marrow⁸, and we isolate⁹ out your stem cells, and we ... freeze them at a temperature that essentially¹⁰ renders them biologically inert¹¹."

Effectively, he told us, your stored stem cells stay the same age, ready to be reintroduced into your system when you're older.

To hear more about the process and potential health benefits of this "stem cell time travel," listen to our full conversation below.

1 arbor   

n.凉亭；树木

参考例句：

• They sat in the arbor and chatted over tea.他们坐在凉亭里，边喝茶边聊天。
• You may have heard of Arbor Day at school.你可能在学校里听过植树节。

2 rejuvenate   

v.(使)返老还童；(使)恢复活力

参考例句：

• The mountain air will rejuvenate you.山里的空气会使你恢复活力。
• Exercise is perhaps the most effective way to rejuvenate your skin.锻炼可能是使皮肤恢复活力的最好手段。

3 replenished   

补充( replenish的过去式和过去分词 )； 重新装满

参考例句：

• She replenished her wardrobe. 她添置了衣服。
• She has replenished a leather [fur] coat recently. 她最近添置了一件皮袄。

4 therapeutic   

adj.治疗的，起治疗作用的；对身心健康有益的

参考例句：

• Therapeutic measures were selected to fit the patient.选择治疗措施以适应病人的需要。
• When I was sad,music had a therapeutic effect.我悲伤的时候，音乐有治疗效力。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

8 marrow   

n.骨髓；精华；活力

参考例句：

• It was so cold that he felt frozen to the marrow. 天气太冷了，他感到寒冷刺骨。
• He was tired to the marrow of his bones.他真是累得筋疲力尽了。

9 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

10 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

11 inert   

adj.无活动能力的，惰性的；迟钝的

参考例句：

• Inert gas studies are providing valuable information about other planets,too.对惰性气体的研究，也提供了有关其它行星的有价值的资料。
• Elemental nitrogen is a very unreactive and inert material.元素氮是一个十分不活跃的惰性物质。