A new story on this in Washington Post:
The quest to slow aging leads scientists into the powerhouse of cells
Texas A&M researchers create mini mitochondria factories using tiny nanoflowers.
Aging taps us on the shoulder in many ways: wrinkles, thinning hair, loss of flexibility, slowing of the brain. But the process also unfolds at a more fundamental, microscopic level, as the energy source inside most cells deteriorates.
Scientists at Texas A&M University have discovered a way to recharge aging and damaged cells, an innovation that could lead to better treatment for a variety of conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, muscular dystrophy and fatty liver disease.
All cells, except those in red blood, get their energy from the mitochondria found in the fluid that surrounds the nucleus. Sometimes called the powerhouse of cells, the mitochondria play an important role in fighting viruses, starving parasites, and synthesizing amino acids, sex hormones and other important chemicals in the body.
As people age, their mitochondria diminish, “a primary or secondary contributor to multiple aging-associated disorders, neurodegenerative diseases and metabolic conditions such as diabetes,” according to Akhilesh K. Gaharwar, a professor of biomedical engineering at Texas A&M and one of the authors of a study recently published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Gaharwar and his colleagues created mini mitochondria factories by adding microscopic flower-shaped particles called nanoflowers to a lab dish containing stem cells. The nanoflowers, hundreds of which could fit in the width of a human hair, get taken into the stem cells through a natural process similar to the way cells absorb nutrients.
The nanoflowers are made from an inorganic compound called molybdenum disulfide, which is able to trigger the process cells use to make more mitochondria. However, nanoflowers enable the stem cells to produce double the normal amount of mitochondria, which they then transfer to ordinary aging or damaged cells.
Mitochondria experts said the study represents an important advance.
“The fact that you can increase the number of mitochondria per cell is huge,” said Daria Mochly-Rosen, a professor in Stanford University’s department of chemical and systems biology who was not involved in the study.
Keshav K. Singh, founding editor in chief of the journal Mitochondrion and director of the Cancer Genetics Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, called the study promising but cautioned that it is still in the early stages. Singh, who was not involved in the paper, said the long-term safety of molybdenum disulfide in humans is unknown.
Singh established the nonprofit Mitochondria Research and Medicine Society and founded a Birmingham-based company called Yuva Biosciences. The company has developed products that restore the function of mitochondria to fight hair loss and wrinkles, but Singh dreams of starting what he calls a human energy project.
“Improving mitochondrial function can really extend life and health,” he said. The goal would be to protect, sustain and generate new mitochondria, he said, “and do it for every organ.”
Full story: https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025/12/08/aging-stem-cells-longevity-mitochondria/