In 2009, Nextbigfuture covered the curious case of Brooke Greenberg. At the time she was chronologically 16 years old but physically she was a toddler.
Brooke, who passed away last Thursday at the age of 20, had the body and cognitive function of a 1-year-old. She didn’t grow after the age of 5 — and basically, she stopped aging entirely.
Brooke Greenberg, was a 20-year-old who never developed beyond the toddler stage, may provide clues to help scientists unlock the secrets of longevity and fight age-related disorders, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and heart disease.
There has been genetic sequencing of Brooke’s DNA and other studies related to aging.
“Brooke Greenberg, even after her sad passing, may help to reveal answers to one of the major mysteries in human biology: Why do we age and is there any way to slow or suspend the aging process?” Dr. Eric Schadt, director of the Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York.
Brooke may have been the only person in the world suffering from a mysterious genetic disease that her doctors called Syndrome X. “Finding out that her DNA makeup is completely different than anyone else brought to our attention that we could help,” her father, Howard Greenberg said in a previous interview. “So eventually, at the end of the rainbow, there will be something that comes out of all this. I believe everyone is here for a reason.”
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Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.