Your DNA is a coding language.
It’s a biological coding language. It’s no different than the coding language that is used to write apps and programs. So if you have the mindset that your DNA is your biological software, and it resides inside the nucleus of every cell, and if you take on the concept that every cell has to process coding language, read it, translate it, transcribe it, and turn it into products – that’s the process by which we make our proteins.. This is how cells function.
So on the basis of that understanding, my concept has been if your biological software resides in your nucleus, then the cell is like the computer. It’s like the processing unit for that software. And that means that every stem cell contains an uncorrupted copy of your software. If you can store it away like you store away the master disc that you install your programs with, every time your software gets corrupted, you can reboot it.
For me, it’s a very easy way to understand the power of stem cell biology. If you think about it, that it is a way of maintaining an uncorrupted version of your software that can be reinstalled at any time during your life where you want to restore the pristine function that existed early in life. That means that stem cells from a newborn – or the placenta – have a role in making cells for immunotherapy. They have a role for making cells to restore your function of your muscle tissue as you age, and they have the potential to be a cornerstone of advancing your health span by replacing your cells as you age. And so from everything from CAR-T therapy for cancer and immunotherapy for autoimmune disease and regenerative therapy for arthritis, the beauty of stem cells is they can be a cornerstone of a longevity strategy.
Literally augment or replace the regenerative engine that you have in your body when it gets old, worn out, or corrupted because you have either a copy of your own material that’s been cryopreserved and is available, or you use placental cells, which can be transferred without the need to match between donor and recipient.
We’re in an exciting time in medicine. We’re at a point where we can literally reboot our system with a master copy of our healthy selves: our own stem cells.