Transient reprogramming can rejuvenate cells, resetting epigenetic age by several years while retaining cellular identity and potentially preventing malignancy.

“and by administering this cocktail of factors for just a few days not too long because if you administer it for too long you greatly increase the risk of cancer you know and because the the cells lose their identity the skin cell forgets that it's a skin cell it thinks it's a stem cell you know but if you do it briefly for let's say five days you get the benefit of rejuvenation you may have rejuvenated the cell by five years or ten years you know but it still remembers its identity you know and so does the epigenome reset a little bit like it only yes yes so the couple of groups that are working on it and have already shown that effect you know yes so i analyzed fibroblasts and endothelial cells from from such an intervention it's called sometimes interrupted reprogramming or transient reprogramming you know and um and and sure enough you know that that idea worked it reset the age but the cells still remembered their identity and therefore arguably um will not become malignant right”