SENS

SENS (Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence) is a research program that aims to prevent and cure the diseases and disabilities of aging by comprehensively repairing the damage that builds up in our bodies over time. It was first proposed by Aubrey de Grey, a British biogerontologist with a background in AI and theoretical biology.

Overview

The SENS research program seeks to develop a new kind of medicine: regenerative therapies that remove, repair, replace, or render harmless the cellular and molecular damage that accumulates in our tissues with time. By restoring the structure of the body's cells and extracellular material to a state characteristic of youth, these therapies would rejuvenate the body's tissues and hence, we believe, restore their normal function.

The Seven Types of Aging Damage

SENS identifies seven major categories of aging damage that need to be addressed:

1. Cell loss, cell atrophy
2. Nuclear mutations, epimutations
3. Mutant mitochondria
4. Death-resistant cells
5. Tissue stiffening
6. Extracellular aggregates
7. Intracellular aggregates

Research and Development

SENS Research Foundation's strategy to prevent and reverse age-related ill-health is to apply the principles of regenerative medicine to repair the damage of aging at the level of cells and molecules. The Foundation's work encompasses the charting of metabolism, understanding the causes of aging, and the design and development of interventions to repair the damage.

Criticism and Controversy

While SENS has been praised for its vision and ambition, it has also been criticized by some mainstream gerontologists, who question whether the comprehensive damage-repair approach is feasible.

See Also

• Biogerontology
• Regenerative Medicine
• Aging

References

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