Michael Fossel facts for kids
Michael B. Fossel, born in 1950, is a scientist and author who has studied aging for many years. He used to teach clinical medicine at Michigan State University. He is well-known for his ideas about using something called telomerase therapy to help treat cellular senescence, which is when cells get old and stop working well. He has talked about his ideas on many news shows and on National Public Radio (NPR). He also started a science magazine about anti-aging medicine.
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About Michael B. Fossel
Michael B. Fossel was born in Greenwich, Connecticut. Before he became a medical doctor, he studied psychology at Wesleyan University and neurobiology at Stanford University. He also went to Phillips Exeter Academy. In 1981, he finished medical school at Stanford Medical School. During his studies, he received a special award from the National Science Foundation and taught at Stanford University.
His Work and Teaching
Besides teaching at Michigan State University, Dr. Fossel has given talks at important places like the National Institute for Health and the Smithsonian Institution. He has also lectured at many universities and research centers around the world. He was part of the leadership team for the American Aging Association.
Books and Articles
Dr. Fossel has written many articles about aging and medical ethics for different journals. His first book, Reversing Human Aging, came out in 1996. This book received good reviews from major newspapers and even from Scientific American.
In 2004, he published a big textbook called Cells, Aging, and Human Disease through Oxford University Press. Later, in 2015, he released "The Telomerase Revolution." Both the Wall Street Journal and The London Times praised this book as one of the best science books of that year. So far, he has written over 100 articles, chapters, and books about medicine and diseases related to aging. He is currently working on an updated textbook about aging and how to reverse cell aging, which is expected in 2024.
Understanding Telomerase Therapy
Since his time teaching at Stanford University, Dr. Fossel has focused on studying aging from a medical and scientific point of view. He has a special interest in conditions that cause people to age too quickly, like progeria.
Since at least 1996, Dr. Fossel has strongly supported telomerase therapy. He believes it could be a way to treat many diseases and conditions that happen as people get older.
What Telomerase Therapy Could Help With
Dr. Fossel suggests that telomerase therapy might help with conditions such as:
- Progeria: A rare condition where children age very quickly.
- Alzheimer's disease: A brain disease that affects memory and thinking.
- Atherosclerosis: A condition where arteries become narrow and hard.
- Osteoporosis: A condition that makes bones weak and brittle.
- Cancer: A disease where cells grow out of control.
He is careful to explain that telomerase therapy is a potential treatment, not a "cure for old age" or a magic solution for all age-related problems. However, he believes it could greatly extend how long humans can live and might even help reset the aging process for many people.
