Question: Is it possible to prevent mitosis from slowing down when we get older?

Oli Wilson answered on 6 Nov 2017:

Honestly, as I start writing this answer I don’t know. It’s a superb question. Lots of research has been done into slowing mitosis down to stop cancers growing and spreading – drugs from yew trees, crocuses, and the rosy periwinkle have all been very effective – but research into *preventing* mitosis from slowing down seems to be a newer field.
One thing scientists are targeting is telomeres. These are like the plastic caps on shoelaces (the shoelaces being chromosomes) – they protect them from damage. Every time mitosis happens, the telomeres get a little bit shorter and less effective at protecting the chromosome’s DNA code, until eventually the cell dies. At least one group of researchers (led by Helen Blau of Stanford University in the USA) seems to have come up with a way of extending telomeres in cultured cells to prolong their life and essentially rejuvenate them – details are in this press release https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2015/01/telomere-extension-turns-back-aging-clock-in-cultured-cells.html
As always with things like this, we’re probably a good many years away from it being possible in humans as a medical intervention, but nonetheless it seems to clearly demonstrate the importance of telomeres in aging and that we can interrupt the process. Something to build on!