Rewrite the wrong base back to the right one.
Reactivate genes the mutation switched off (or vice versa).
Remove the cell carrying the mutation.
Stop new mutations from forming in the first place.
Case studies
Real trials and published cohorts where the approaches above measurably repaired, silenced, cleared, or prevented mutations in humans (and one foundational mouse study). Filter by reversibility mode.
Things marketed as "DNA repair" that are actually mutagenic
- Tanning beds for "vitamin D" — UVA directly mutates p53. Take oral D3 instead.
- High-dose iron infusions without deficiency — drives Fenton-reaction ROS.
- Megadose synthetic beta-carotene — increased lung cancer in smokers (ATBC, CARET trials).
- "Detox" colonics, ozone therapy — no DNA-level benefit, real harm signals.
- Unregulated stem-cell tourism — multiple documented cases of tumor formation from injected cells.
Outside of CRISPR/base/prime editing in specific monogenic diseases, no current intervention literally "rewrites" the mutations in your existing somatic cells at scale. The realistic toolkit is: (1) prevent new damage, (2) restore the cell's own repair machinery, (3) reactivate silenced tumor suppressors, and (4) remove the cells too damaged to fix. Combined, this stack measurably lowers cancer incidence and biological age — but it is not time-reversal in a literal sense. Talk to a clinician before stacking supplements or pursuing gene therapy.