Out with the old: new treatment on cell ageing process – Science Weekly podcast

Ian Sample explores research on cellular senescence and the role this therapeutic approach can play in age-related diseases and health issues

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In 1965, Professor Leonard Hayflick published a landmark paper describing a process that limited the proliferation - or growth - of normal human cells in culture. Linking this effect to both tumour suppression and ageing, the exact mechanism of what came to be known as cellular senescence was still unknown. Fast forward half a century and cellular senescence is taking centre stage as a promising therapeutic approach for treatment of age-related pathologies. But what have we uncovered about how this senescence happens in cells? And how might we harness this knowledge for the treatment of an ever-ageing population?