Good vibrations could nudge our ageing brain cells back into their youthful groove

A winner of this year's MRC Max Perutz award, Vanessa Drevenakova of Imperial College London explains how ultrasound could help to stave off dementia

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If I told you that a gentle pulse of sound could help keep your brain young, would you believe me? Not music. Not meditation. But carefully controlled sound waves, delivered deep into the brain. No surgery. No drugs. Just vibrations - measured, focused and silent to the ear.

I know it might sound far-fetched. But the idea that we could delay brain ageing itself with ultrasound might no longer be science fiction. In fact, it's exactly what I am researching.

We're living longer than ever, but not necessarily better. Dementia is now one of the leading causes of death in the UK. Families are caring for loved ones who slowly fade in front of their eyes. And our treatments? They come late and do little to reverse the damage.

That's why we need new approaches. Not just to manage decline, but to prevent it. Not to treat disease after it steals someone's memories, but to protect the brain while there is still time.

I study what happens to the brain as we grow older, and how we might stop some of those changes, using ultrasound. Not to live for ever. Not to become superhuman. Just to remain ourselves for a little longer. Because ageing doesn't just change our faces and joints. It changes the brain. Quietly at first, misplacing a word, forgetting a detail. Then more deeply. A friend's name disappears. A routine becomes confusing. Even familiar faces begin to feel distant.

For a long time, we thought brain ageing was just slow decay-neurons wearing out, fading away. But now we know the story is more complex. The brain isn't just a tangle of neurons. It's more like a garden, constantly maintained by a team of microscopic caretakers, working tirelessly behind the scenes.

These caretakers are microglia, the brain's immune cells. They prune unnecessary connections, clear debris, and quietly patrol for anything out of place.

One of their most important jobs is to clear out proteins that naturally build up between cells.