30th September 2026 Newsletter
Hi guys. This is the twenty-first newsletter from the Rejuvenation Science Institute (ICR). In these newsletters, we will tell you what we've done, since the last newsletter, to accelerate the development of rejuvenation science.
The first steps in the Mouse Rejuvenation Experiment have already been taken
On the last day of September, Nicolás went to the farm to collect blood from a young pig that was slaughtered for meat. Afterward, Nicolás and Nina traveled to Botucatu, a city 3 hours away by car, along with their children Aurora (almost 4 years old) and David (almost 10 months old), so that Nina could isolate the plasma at Unipex, the organization that the ICR contracted to provide animal facility and laboratory support for the experiment. The plasma was isolated and stored at -80°C. The 20 mice to be used in the experiment have already arrived at the Unipex animal facility, and the Ethics Committee for the Use of Animals has issued its authorization. In other words, everything is on schedule, with the first injection into the mice planned for October 13, 2026.
What now?
On October 7, Nicolás will return to Botucatu to observe the first day of the pre-treatment grip strength test, bringing the grip strength testing machine with him. The grip strength testing will last three days — with the third day being the one that really counts in terms of results. On that final day, blood samples will also be collected from all the mice for pre-treatment analysis.
Then, on October 9, Nina, Nicolás, Aurora, and David will once again travel to Botucatu so that Nina can carry out the entire process of preparing the dose for the mice using the stored plasma. The process takes four days, and on October 13, the dose will be ready, and the first of the four injections that make up the mice’s first dose will be administered.
After the other three injections are administered on October 15, 17 and 19, we will conduct the first post-treatment strength test on October 28, 29, and 30. So, on October 30, we will have the first data that will tell us, to a large extent, whether or not the mice will be rejuvenated.
Team that drove 3 hours to Botucatu to isolate platelet-free plasma
So off to Brussels we go…
Once we have these initial preliminary results on grip strength, Nicolás and Nina (along with Aurora and David) will travel to Brussels to attend the 8th Eurosymposium on Healthy Aging (EHA), which will take place on November 5 and 6, 2026. Our presentation on our rodent rejuvenation experiments will be on November 6, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., as shown in the event schedule. Click here to view the schedule.
…and then we’ll return to continue the experiments in Brazil
Upon returning to Brazil, in addition to continuing the Mouse Rejuvenation Experiment, we will resume the Rat Rejuvenation Experiment, which was suspended in March of this year, 2026, after the initial tests failed to replicate Harold Katcher’s results. Now that Katcher has provided clarifications regarding his articles, we will certainly have a much better chance of replicating his results.
In September, Nicolás gave a presentation at the DoNotAge.org conference in London
DoNotAge.org, one of the main donors to the Rat Rejuvenation Experiment, invited us to give a presentation at its conference, held in London on September 26 and 27 of this year, 2026. Nicolás presented the ICR’s work, explaining the path that led us to these experiments, our results to date, and our plans to complete the experiments in the coming months, as well as what we intend to do if we succeed in rejuvenating the rodents by replicating Harold Katcher’s seminal experiment.
Nicolás, wearing his big gray sweater, on the right side of the photo, in the foreground
This is a collective effort
This experiment is a collective effort to reproduce Harold Katcher's seminal study, in which the ICR relies on the contribution of those interested in the realization of the experiment. Thus, if you know someone who might be interested in the content of this newsletter, you can forward it to them. Also, if you are not yet a financial contributor of the ICR, we invite you to become one by clicking on this link.
So that's it. We're carrying on, and we won't rest until we've implemented rejuvenation in human beings. See you next time!