I love the way in these sort of articles they say things like "May hold the key to aging". As if scientists will suddenly discover some magical formula that prevents aging and gives everyone everlasting life.
It would be lots more interesting to Parents if they said something like "May hold the key to maturity", where they learn how to stop a 17 year old from having the behavior of a baby. ;)
A school days friend of mine stopped developing at age ~17. Some very rare condition. Now he's about fourty and about to out-live his mother. However, there's no chance he'll ever live on his own.
That her development ceased around that of a 1 year old suggests to me she has not ceased aging, but ceased developing. Either the next step is broken, or her internal time clock is frozen, but the former seems more likely.
I may be wrong, but I was under the impression aging is different from the development that happens until our mid twenties, so how can finding what's stopping her development help us stop aging?
It's possible that humans go into "low maintenance mode" as they get old. Old people sleep less, which may age them more, but also lets them get more stuff done.
I watched a program about this girl and I remember thinking this the whole time. She stopped development in most ways, but that doesn't mean she isn't aging.
Because we don't fully understand genetics, it's risky to attempt to "give" this condition to another human. From what we can understand, a given gene can control multiple traits. So the "anti-aging"/"anti-development" genes may also hold those other medical conditions too.
I think that no one in their right mind would accept the therapy if it would give them one or more irreversible problems.
This story has been kicking around on the web for over a year. I read it over a year ago (I don't remember where it was linked from) when the girl was 16.
