Georgia Tech researchers developed a way to rejuvenate aging immune cells, potentially restoring the body's ability to better fight cancer, infection, and other diseases.
The immune system naturally weakens with age, leaving older adults more vulnerable to infections, cancer, and poor vaccine responses. Georgia Tech biomedical engineer Ankur Singh and his team have developed a technique that restores aging immune cells by delivering new genetic instructions directly into exhausted T cells using microscopic silicon nanowires. The treatment rejuvenated immune cells from healthy older adults, cancer survivors, and patients with cancer, helping them behave more like younger cells without damaging them. Although the research is still in its early stages, it opens the door to therapies that could strengthen aging immune systems and improve the body's ability to fight disease.
