Easter Island has long stayed in the collective unconscious of civilization as one of the most mysterious locations on Earth. The mysterious statues, the Moa with their long staring eyes looking into the distance as if warding off invaders or beseeching distant travelers to come closer, are still the center of archaeological debate. And now it seems once again Easter Island is a center of wonder as scientists unearth a new compound that may cure one age related illness and could one day kill off the aging process altogether - from the island’s soil.
It might sound strange to look for the fountain of youth in the soil of one of the most mysterious islands in the world - or it might sound like precisely the sort of place eternal life may lie. As scientists dug up the soil they found it contained what would eventually become a drug known as Rapamycin. At first it was tested on cells from children who suffered from a disease commonly known as Progeria. Sufferers of this disease often age incredibly rapidly and in fact cannot keep their bodies from deteriorating as time goes on.
Unfortunately, without a proper treatment they would undergo the aging process of decades within only a few years without any of the growth that normally comes with it. The end result was often heart breaking as cells caused a child to age before their parent’s eyes. But it appears scientists may have found an answer to this mysterious but tragic illness in the form of drugs made from the soil found on Easter Island.
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This is great. In due time, scientist can already claim that they have discovered the fountain, in the case, soil of youth.
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