On January 30, 2026, Life Biosciences — a biotech company co-founded by Harvard genetics professor David Sinclair — received FDA clearance to begin the first-ever human clinical trial of a cellular reprogramming technology. The trial targets two age-related vision diseases: glaucoma and non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). But the implications extend well beyond eye care.
This is the first time the FDA has cleared a test of partial epigenetic reprogramming in humans — a technique that its proponents argue doesn't just treat disease but reverses the biological aging that causes it.
