In 2013, Harvard Medical School researchers announced they had discovered that GDF-11 reverses cardiac hypertrophy, or thickening of the heart muscle, an important contributor to heart failure.

The substance, called GDF-11, is an obscure member of the transforming growth factor family of proteins; it was identified by Forst family professor of stem cell and regenerative biology Amy Wagers and Harvard Medical School professor Richard T. Lee, working with a startup company, SomaLogic