My Grandpa used to tell me stories - larakin tales from his boyhood as well as more circumspect reflections of World War II, electronics, farming, family and everything in between. At the end of a story, he would often say,
“But I wouldn’t go back.”
He would have been in his seventies, and to me, he was an old man. I found it hard to believe that he would choose to stay an old man, rather than go back to being his younger self.
As I age, I understand his sentiment. It’s great to reflect with my daughter about my old boyfriends, but I wouldn't want to be her age again. Similarly, I would love my body to do and look like it was in my twenties, but that would mean having to live through all those tough (yet wonderful) years again.
Of course, it’s all theoretical, as much as we might want to, we can’t go back in time.
Yet this week, I had lunch with a colleague whom I had worked with decades ago. His name is Dr Chunyi Li, and he is a globally recognised expert in deer antler regeneration.
How are deer antlers relevant?
Well, the cells that regenerate deer antlers are unusual.
Unlike almost any other tissue in mammals, deer antlers regrow completely every year. Not repair—regrow. Fast, full and scar-free. That makes them one of the most intriguing models in biology for understanding regeneration and ageing.
Dr Li’s research has taken this one step further, asking whether the same biology that allows a deer to regrow an antler could help humans heal damaged lung tissue (published in Nature).
In particular, scientists have been studying tiny particles released by these antler stem cells called exosomes. Think of them as biological “messages in a bottle,” packages of proteins and genetic signals that tell other cells what to do.
Instead of transplanting stem cells, researchers used the exosomes in a mouse model of pulmonary fibrosis. In this disease, lung tissue becomes stiff and scarred, making it progressively harder to breathe.
The results were striking.
The treated mice had less lung damage, less scarring and better survival. But what’s particularly interesting is how this happened.
Most medical approaches to fibrosis aim to alter the behaviour of immune cells once they arrive at a damaged site. This research suggests a different strategy: stop the wrong cells from showing up in the first place.
The antler-derived exosomes reduced the number of inflammatory immune cells that drive fibrosis. They did this by reducing chemical signals that normally attract these immune cells to injured tissue.
Fewer inflammatory cells means less scarring.
It’s a subtle but powerful shift in thinking. Rather than trying to fix the damage once it’s underway, the body is nudged to avoid overreacting in the first place.
There’s also something deeper here.
As we age, many of our chronic diseases, from lung fibrosis to metabolic dysfunction, are driven not just by damage, but by dysregulated repair. Too much inflammation. Too much scarring. Not enough regeneration.
Deer antlers don’t follow the script.
They don’t “go back in time.” They don’t become young again. But they do retain the ability to rebuild complex tissue in a controlled, efficient and scar-free way.
We’re still a long way from turning antler biology into human therapies - but you can bet I discussed this with Dr Li!
His research opens an intriguing door: what if healthy ageing isn’t about trying to return to youth, but about learning how to repair better, respond better, and regenerate more intelligently?
My grandfather was right; not many of us would truly choose to go back.
But perhaps, with help from nature, we can live with vigour for longer.
