Not All Aging 'Zombie' Cells Are Bad: Precision Therapies Target Harmful Subtypes

A new Aging-US review argues that senescent cells—often called 'zombie cells'—are not uniformly bad: some support tissue repair while others drive chronic inflammation and disease. This nuanced view is steering anti-aging research toward precision geroprotection, combining targeted therapies such as senolytics, senomorphics, and engineered immunotherapies to remove or modulate specific senescent cell subtypes. Advances rely on single-cell omics and related tools to map cell diversity across organs, but challenges remain, including identifying specific biomarkers, delivering treatments safely, and avoiding interference with beneficial tissue maintenance.