The relevance of nearly all biogerontology research to combating ageing is restricted to the potential for slowing down the accumulation of molecular and cellular damage that eventually leads to age-related ill-health. Meanwhile, regenerative medicine has been progressing rapidly and is nearing clinical applicability to a wide range of specific conditions.

I argue that we are approaching the point where regenerative medicine can be used against ageing. This would entail not retarding but actually reversing the accumulation of damage. If successful, this would obviously be a far more valuable technology than mere slowing of ageing. However, in order to be successful it must be comprehensive, and some aspects of ageing may seem impossible to address in this way. I shall survey the main examples and argue that the ones which contribute to age-related ill-health are, in fact, realistic targets of regenerative interventions.

Dr. Aubrey de Grey is a biomedical gerontologist based in Cambridge, UK, and is the Chief Science Officer of SENS Foundation, a non-profit charity dedicated to combating the ageing process. He is also Editor-in-Chief of Rejuvenation Research