Animal study · Aging · 8 Sept 2026
Partial OSK reprogramming that repaired mouse optic nerves has entered a first human eye trial
Source: MIT Technology Review
What the research found
Commentary (science feature citing primary work). MIT Technology Review (8 September 2026) covers Yuancheng Ryan Lu’s OSK partial-reprogramming work, published in Nature in 2020, in which crushed mouse optic nerves regrew after a three-factor gene therapy (OSK, omitting Myc). Life Biosciences, which David Sinclair cofounded, said on 9 June 2026 it had injected the same construct (ER-100) into the eye of a person with glaucoma — a first-in-human safety start, not an aging-reversal outcome. Lu notes OSK remains toxic in many cell types and is a proof of concept, not a fountain of youth. Educational research notes, not a treatment offer. Sinclair-adjacent; farmed from the underlying mouse paper plus the public trial announcement.
Evidence level: Animal study. Results in animals or cells often don't carry over to people.
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