Human Trials to Reverse Aging Have Just Begun

There's a jellyfish that, when it gets old or hurt, turns itself back into a baby. And this year, scientists took blood cells from an 80-year-old and turned them into young cells with a DNA age under 20. Aging might not be a one-way street. In this animated explainer, we look at why our cells lose track of who they are, the clock written into your DNA, the four "switches" that can reset a cell, and the first human trial trying to rewind aging in the eye. We'll also look at what's real, what's hype, and how far we might actually be able to rewind. ⏱ Chapters 0:00 The jellyfish that ages backwards 0:47 The smudged score: why cells age 2:02 The clock inside you: your DNA age 3:15 Four switches: the Yamanaka factors 4:15 Rewind, but only a little: partial reprogramming 5:09 The 80-year-old's cells made young again 5:58 Patient number one: the first human trial 7:18 How far can we rewind? You'll learn: • How the "immortal" jellyfish turns back into a polyp • Why some scientists think aging is partly lost information in our cells • How an epigenetic clock can measure your body's age from your DNA • How four genes can turn an old cell back into a stem cell, and why that's risky • What happened when scientists rewound old cells and mice "just a little" • What the first human trial of partial reprogramming is testing, and what it isn't • Why billions are now flowing into age-reversal startups So how far do you think we'll be able to rewind? Tell us in the comments 👇 🔔 Subscribe to Next World for fun, easy-to-follow stories about the future we're building: AI, robots, space, medicine and more. 📚 Sources • Berg et al., Aging Cell (2026): old blood cells converted to young neural stem cells; University of Bonn release, 9 Oct 2026 • Horvath, Genome Biology (2013): the epigenetic clock • Kerepesi et al., Science Advances (2021): the clock resets in the early embryo • Yamanaka & Takahashi (2006); NobelPrize.org (2012) • Abad et al., Nature (2013): full reprogramming in mice causes tumours • Ocampo et al., Salk Institute (2016): partial reprogramming in fast-aging mice • Lu et al., Nature (2020): restoring vision in mice with OSK • Yang et al., Cell (2023): loss of epigenetic information and aging • Life Biosciences: ER-100 FDA clearance (Jan 2026) and first-in-human data (2026); NCT07290244 • STAT News (Jun 2026): NewLimit's $435M raise • MIT Technology Review (2023): Sam Altman's $180M in Retro Biosciences • Altos Labs launch coverage (2022) This video is for education only and isn't medical advice. Narrated with an AI voice. Researched, written and fact-checked by the Next World team. #Aging #Longevity #Science