It's a cliché of vampire tales that young blood is preferable to old, but a new study suggests there's some truth to it.
A paper published today in Nature finds that when younger mice are exposed to the blood of older mice, their brain cells behave more like those found in aging brains, and vice versa. The researchers who carried out the work also uncovered chemical signals in aged blood that can dampen the growth of new brain cells, suggesting that the decline in brain function with age could be caused in part by blood-borne factors rather than an intrinsic failure of brain cells.
Having a good supply of young blood might come in handy on long duration deep space voyages. To read the rest of the article, click here.