Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley announced on Mar. 25 that they have developed an organ-on-a-chip system capable of replicating approximately four decades of human aging in just four days. The study, published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, was led by metabolic biologist Andreas Stahl and longevity researcher Irina Conboy.
The advancement is significant as global populations age and healthcare systems prepare for a rise in age-related diseases. More than one billion people worldwide are over 60 years old, with projections suggesting this number will more than double by 2050.
Stahl said, “Over $130 billion is spent on drug development each year in the United States, but over 90% end up failing in clinical trials.” He explained that there is a growing need to improve drug development pipelines so they better reflect human biology. The new chip system allows scientists to accelerate the biological aging process of fat and liver tissues derived from induced pluripotent stem cells using blood serum from donors aged 62 and older. Within four days, these tissues exhibited chronic inflammation and other hallmarks of aging seen over decades in humans.
Irina Conboy said, “Our collaborative work with Andreas’ lab group strengthened our understanding that aging is not just the progression of time. We are regenerating systems. We are capable of repair.” She also noted that their earlier research showed diluting old blood plasma had rejuvenative effects on organs such as brain and liver.
The team used machine learning models trained on gene-expression data to validate their results with high accuracy—tissues exposed to young serum resembled those from people in their thirties while those exposed to old serum matched profiles from people in their fifties. The study found differences between male and female serum effects: male serum produced stronger inflammatory responses while female serum results were more variable due to hormonal complexity.
Testing anti-aging therapies on the chip revealed oxytocin reduced inflammation and improved metabolism more effectively than other treatments like rapamycin or senolytics. Stahl said rapamycin showed almost no rejuvenative effect: “We could have told people that this is not going to work based on this system in four days.”
The research identified eleven new biomarkers for potential drug development targets and demonstrated gene expression manipulation within the chip system for real-time observation of aging processes. Efforts are underway to commercialize the technology; Generation Lab—co-founded by Irina Conboy—is developing products using similar biomarker panels for clinical applications.
The Rausser College of Natural Resources at UC Berkeley supports such interdisciplinary research efforts through donor contributions aimed at enhancing student opportunities and advancing environmental sustainability as well as human health improvements according to its official website. The college leads nationally and globally across natural and social sciences fields according to its official website while focusing on environmental challenges through collaboration with communities, policymakers, and global initiatives according to its official website.
