AI Breakthrough in identifying senescent cells signals progress in aging and cancer therapy
https://lms.mrc.ac.uk/ai-taught-to-detect-senescent-cells/
In a groundbreaking study, researchers led by PhD candidate Imanol Duran at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Medical Science, in collaboration with Imperial College London and DKFZ in Germany, have developed machine learning algorithms to accurately identify senescent cells. This advancement promises to revolutionise treatments for cancer and aging by facilitating the development of therapies targeting senescent cell.
It is estimated that for a cell to become cancerous it needs to accumulate around six mutations, with those usually occurring during cell division. As cells get older, the risk of mutations occurring during this replication process also increases and for many years scientists wondered how we managed to live for many decades without accumulating genetic damage causing more cancers across a typical lifetime. Part of the answer emerged in the 1960s when Leonard Hayflick discovered that cells growing in labs could only undergo around 50 replications before they would simply stop dividing.
