Rewriting the Ageing Code with Rapamycin

Rapamycin, an immunosuppressant discovered in the 1970s on Easter Island, has proved useful with its many benefits including delaying aging, preventing tissue rejection, treatment of sclerosis, and anti-cancer properties. Although it was initially developed as an antifungal agent, scientists soon uncovered its mTOR pathway which plays a vital role in cellular growth. Inhibiting the mechanistic Target of the Rapamycin pathway effectively slows down proliferation, making it useful in treating diseases where cell growth is a problem. Presently, medical advances have proved that doses of this pill may even extend a person’s life span by around 25%.