# Raman method identifies senescent cells without destroying them

_Published Monday, September 21, 2026 at 5:07 AM EDT · Science · Latest · Tier 2 — Notable_

![Raman method identifies senescent cells without destroying them — Primary](https://scx2.b-cdn.net/gfx/news/hires/2022/cell-1.jpg)

MIT-led researchers developed a nondestructive method for identifying senescent cells, which stop dividing but remain in tissue. They combined Raman microscopy, which reads cells' chemical composition using light, with single-cell gene-expression data to find spectral "barcodes" associated with senescence in mouse skin and lung tissue.

The system could let researchers examine living samples that conventional biomarker tests destroy. It is not ready for clinical use: the work used mouse cells, and imaging a tissue sample of roughly one square millimeter currently takes about 30 hours.

## Sources

- [Phys.org](https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-powered-barcode-unmasks-zombie.html)

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Canonical: https://techandbusiness.org/newswire/0G6R2PwnyT_rjMDFb5jSAn
Published: 2026-09-21T09:07:24.011Z
Story chronology: 2026-09-21T09:00:07.000Z
Retrieved: 2026-09-21T13:27:31.108Z
Publisher: Tech & Business (techandbusiness.org)