• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
  • WordPress
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
Science Update

Science Update

Sharing Science | Satisfying Curiosity | Debunking BS

  • Spotlights
  • Reality Check
  • Why Is It?
  • Radio Archives
  • Sciup @ School
Home » Radio Archive » Daily Show » New Old Neurons

New Old Neurons

October 13, 2015
https://podcast.scienceupdate.com/151013_sciup_neuron.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window

BOB HIRSHON (host):Creating old neurons. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update.

To study various diseases in the lab, scientists reprogram skin cells, which are easy to come by, into stem cells, which can then be transformed into any type of cell, from heart cells to neurons. But unfortunately for scientists studying aging, the first step erases the cell’s age, restoring its properties to that of a young cell, says Salk Institute neuroscientist Fred Gage.

FRED GAGE (Salk Institute):

Even if you’re getting skin fibroblasts from an 89-year-old or a one-year old they’re both reverted back to a common, very immature state.

HIRSHON:

Waiting decades for the cells to get old again isn’t an option, so, in the journal Cell Stem Cell, Gage reveals a new technique that converts skin cells directly into neurons, without erasing their age. It promises to make studying diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s much easier. I’m Bob Hirshon, for AAAS, the science society.

Category: Daily Show, Station DownloadTag: Aging, Brain Science, Social & Behavioral Sciences
Previous Post:Parents, Kids & Math
Next Post:Placebos & Depression

Sidebar

Radio Program Archives

Want to learn more about the brain? The environment? Here you can browse the topics that come up regularly on Science Update.

Search the Archives

Categories

  • Daily Show
  • Station Download
  • Weekly Show

Find By Tag

  • 2020
  • Acoustics & Sound
  • Aging
  • Animal Behavior
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Astronomy & Space
  • Biology
  • Brain Science
  • Bugs
  • Cat Video
  • Chemistry
  • Children & Families
  • cicadas
  • Climate & Weather
  • Communications
  • Computer Science
  • Economics & Business
  • Education
  • Energy
  • Engineering & Technology
  • Environment & Conservation
  • Genetics & Evolution
  • Geology
  • Marine Science
  • Materials Science
  • Mathematics
  • Medicine & Health
  • Microbiology
  • Nanotechnology
  • NASA
  • Nutrition & Food Science
  • Paleontology & Dinosaurs
  • Physics
  • Plants & Agriculture
  • Political Science
  • Reality Check
  • Social & Behavioral Sciences
  • Sports & Fitness
  • spotlight
  • Spotlight Bugs
  • Terrorism & War
  • Why Is It? Questions
  • Wildlife
  • Year in Review

Find By Date

Science Update
  • About Science Update
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

Image of computer screen depicting an orange cat with a variety of alphanumeric scientific data superimposed on the the screen.
Spotted skunk performing handstand to threaten predators

Copyright © 2025 · Springtail Media LLC · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Pongos