Korean scientists may have discovered ‘elixir of youth’ that ‘erases wrinkles’ and could even reverse brain and muscle decline

韩国科学家可能已经发现了一种“长生不老药”，可以“消除皱纹”，甚至可以逆转大脑和肌肉的退化


@ Getty Images / RunPhoto
By Brian McGleenon, a journalist who has worked for Fuji Television, The Daily Express, The Independent, KBS and Pear Video.

Brian McGleenon，本文作者，曾在富士电视台、每日快报、独立报、韩国广播公司和梨视频工作过的记者。

Researchers have developed a rejuvenating gene therapy for human skin that has the potential to make “ageing a reversible phenomenon.” RT spoke to the lead scientist, Professor Kwang-Hyun Cho, about the astonishing breakthrough.

研究人员已经开发出一种人类皮肤恢复活力的基因疗法，有可能使“返老回童现象”。《今日俄罗斯》采访了首席科学家赵光铉(Kwang-Hyun Cho)教授，谈到了这一惊人的突破。

Scientists at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have discovered a way to make skin cells “grow younger.” They claim the original technique can be used to “reverse the ageing process and prevent diseases related to ageing and prolong life span.”

韩国高级科学技术研究院(KAIST)的科学家们发现了一种让皮肤细胞“逆生长”的方法。他们声称，这项原始技术可以用来“逆转衰老过程，预防与衰老相关的疾病，延长寿命。”

Speaking to RT from KAIST University, Professor Kwang-Hyun Cho, the lead scientist in the study, said seeing the revitalized skin in the laboratory was “dramatic,” and added that the newly discovered technique “applies not only to human skin but also to our whole body.”

这项研究的首席科学家，韩国科学技术大学(KAIST University)教授赵光铉(Kwang-Hyun Cho)对《今日俄罗斯》表示，在实验室看到焕发活力的皮肤是“令人激动的”，他补充说，新发现的技术“不仅适用于人类皮肤，还适用于我们的整个身体。”

Professor Cho described his newly developed technique as “opening the door for a new generation that perceives ageing as a reversible biological phenomenon.” It relies on using chemical inhibition and gene interference to “switch off” a molecule that makes cells grow old. The ageing of a cell is called cell senescence. The researchers were able to “reawaken” skin cells in the lab and rejuvenate their ability to repair and divide into newer versions of themselves.

赵教授将他的新技术描述为“为新一代人打开大门，将衰老视为一种可逆的生物现象”。这项技术依靠化学抑制和基因干扰来“关闭”一种使细胞衰老的分子。细胞的老化称为细胞衰老。研究人员能够在实验室里“唤醒”皮肤细胞，并恢复它们修复和分裂自身新细胞的能力。

The results showed that the overall functionality of skin tissue was regenerated, giving the skin a healthy amount of collagen and elastic fibers, ridding the tissue of wrinkles. The promise of the technique could see an end to the ravages of age like dryness, creases, loss of elasticity and thinning skin.

结果表明，皮肤组织的整体功能得到了再生，为皮肤提供健康数量的胶原蛋白和弹性纤维，消除组织皱纹。这项技术有望终结干燥、皱纹、失去弹性和皮肤变薄等老化现象。


Cashing in on younger skin

护肤行业大赚特赚

Obviously, South Korea’s booming cosmetic surgery industry is keen to exploit any new medicine that promises to make slack jawlines, age spots, and wrinkled foreheads a thing of the past. They know its value can only increase because the world’s aged population is at its highest level in human history. With an estimated 700 million people over 60, the desire to be forever young can only intensify.

显然，韩国蓬勃发展的整容行业热衷于开发任何新药，希望能让下巴松弛、老年斑和额头皱纹成为过去。他们知道它的价值只会增加，因为世界老年人口正处于人类历史上的最高水平。据估计有7亿60岁以上的人，想永远年轻的愿望只会更加强烈。

Seoul-based cosmetics company Amorepacific is already on the case and has begun to develop the technology further with assistance from the scientists from KAIST. Director of research and development at Amorepacific, Park Won-Seok, said this joint research allowed the company to see if the technique had the potential “to reverse the ageing process in the skin.” He added that his corporation will continue to build on the research to “improve the progress of ageing that was previously thought impossible.” Amorepacific is already seeing the benefits of this collaboration with its share price rising steadily since the announcement in late November.

总部位于首尔的化妆品公司爱茉莉太平洋(Amorepacific)已经在着手这项研究，并在韩国科学技术院(KAIST)的科学家的协助下，开始进一步开发这项技术。爱茉莉太平洋公司的研发总监Park Won-Seok说，这项联合研究让公司看到了这项技术是否有可能“逆转皮肤的衰老过程”。他补充说，他的公司将继续以这些研究为基础，“改善以前认为不可能的衰老进程”。“爱茉莉太平洋已经看到了这一合作成果的好处，自11月底宣布新技术以来，其股价稳步上涨。


Masks up = nip and tuck

戴上口罩 = 整形手术

The world’s fixation with outward appearances has been amplified by our addiction to social media sites like Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. South Korea could top the leaderboard for today’s ‘beauty-sick’ culture. The term ‘beauty-sick’ was coined by US psychologist professor Renee Engeln, who described a growing tendency to place beauty at the top of an individual’s personal agenda. Meaning people will commit more money, resources, and time towards their appearance than is healthy.

我们对Facebook、TikTok和Instagram等社交媒体网站的沉迷，放大了这个世界对外貌的痴迷。韩国可能是当今“爱美病”文化的榜首。“爱美病”这个词是由美国心理学教授蕾妮·恩格尔提出的，她描述了越来越多的人将美貌置于个人生活首位的趋势。这意味着人们会在外貌上投入更多的金钱、资源和时间，而不是健康。

Fixation on beauty above all has reached epidemic proportions in South Korea, particularly affecting women, but also a growing number of younger men thanks to the popularity of porcelain-faced boybands like BTS. There has been a surge in demand for cosmetic surgery throughout the coronavirus pandemic with many Koreans using their Covid-19 stimulus handouts for a little nip and tuck. Aesthetic perfection seekers are taking advantage of mandatory face masks and stay at home orders, viewing them as the perfect opportunity to have some work done. Statistics from 2019 by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) revealed South Korea has the highest density of plastic surgeons in the world, where an estimated 60 percent of females in their 20s have had a cosmetic procedure.

在韩国，对美貌的痴迷已经达到了一种流行病的程度，尤其是对女性的影响，但也有越来越多的年轻男性，这要归功于BTS等涂脂涂粉的男孩乐队。在新冠病毒疫情期间，整容手术的需求激增，许多韩国人利用他们的新冠激励资金来做一点整容手术。追求容貌完美的人正在利用强制性口罩和居家隔离指令，把它们视为完成一些工作的绝佳机会。国际美容整形外科学会(ISAPS) 2019年的统计数据显示，韩国是世界上整形外科医生密度最高的国家，据估计，韩国20多岁的女性中有60%做过整容手术。


Are there any drawbacks?

有什么缺陷吗?

As uncontrolled cell division could lead to the formation of malignant tumors, I asked Professor Cho if there were any fears that “reawakening” senescent cells could cause cancer. He said that these genetically edited skin cells will be able to renew, without turning cancerous, telling me that his experiments revealed that the “cells proliferated safely upon external growth signals.” When no external growth signals were received, the cells “died by apoptosis.” Apoptosis is the programmed cell death that happens naturally when the human body is in its early development phase. In this way, he says the skin will not have an accumulation of “senescent cells”' that can cause inflammation to their surroundings.

由于不受控制的细胞分裂可能导致恶性肿瘤的形成，我问赵教授是否担心衰老细胞的“苏醒”会导致癌症。他说，这些经过基因编辑的皮肤细胞将能够更新，而不会发生癌变。他告诉我，他的实验显示，“细胞在外部生长信号的作用下安全地增殖。”当没有接收到外部生长信号时，细胞就会“死于细胞凋亡”。细胞凋亡是一种程序性的细胞死亡，当人体处于早期发育阶段时自然发生。他说，通过这种方式，皮肤就不会积累“衰老细胞”，而“衰老细胞”会导致周围组织发炎。

But those hoping to roll back the wrinkles with Professor Cho’s miracle cure will have to have deep pockets. He said that there could be a significant cost in bringing the current procedure to the stage where it can be used in surgeries. His new approach could be market-ready within “five to seven years, depending on the success of future experiments.” However, he claims that by then “it would be able to replace the current plastic surgery for mitigating wrinkles.” Perhaps even more excitingly, with more development, the method may also “reverse muscle loss and brain deterioration” and could even be used as an “anti-cancer therapy.”

但是那些希望用赵教授的神奇疗法来消除皱纹的人得有雄厚的财力。他说，将目前的手术方法推广到可以用于外科手术的阶段，可能会有相当大的成本。他的新方法可能在“5到7年内进入市场，这取决于未来试验的成功与否”。然而，他声称，到那时，“它将能够取代目前的整形手术来减轻皱纹。”也许更令人兴奋的是，随着进一步的发展，这种方法还可能“逆转肌肉丧失和大脑退化”，甚至可以用作“抗癌疗法”。

However, the cost factor involved could accentuate the growing divide between the rich and the poor, not to mention blurring the distinction between the young and the old. Conjuring up of images of grandmothers whose youthful facades are the envy of their granddaughters. Or two pensioners meeting, one carrying the deep creases of age, the other flaunting the porcelain skin of a K-pop singer.

然而，所涉及的成本因素可能会加剧贫富之间日益扩大的鸿沟，更不用说模糊了年轻人和老年人之间的区别。让人联想到祖母的形象，她们年轻的外表让孙女们羡慕不已。或者两个退休老人聚在一起，一个带着深深的岁月皱纹，另一个炫耀着韩国流行歌手式的鲜嫩皮肤。


This revolutionary new technique may restore the face to its former youth, but will it repair the fragility and insecurity of the person beneath?

这项革命性的新技术可能会让脸部恢复昔日的青春，但它会修复脸部下面人的脆弱和不安全感吗?

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