Current therapies offer limited benefit for patients with previously treated metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (mPDAC). Aberrant activation of the RAS pathway is the key driver of PDAC, with oncogenic RAS mutations present in more than 90% of cases. Daraxonrasib is an oral RAS(ON) multiselective, tri-complex inhibitor of the active guanosine triphosphate–bound state of mutant and wild-type RAS.
Can we really slow aging or even reverse it?
Aging is no longer viewed as an untouchable part of life. According to Eric Verdin, scientists are beginning to treat aging itself as a biological process that can be slowed and potentially reversed.
In this episode, Eric explains why longevity research is entering a new era. He discusses how AI, women’s health, metabolic therapies, and partial reprogramming are reshaping medicine. He highlights GLP-1 drugs as one of the most promising tools today and explains how resetting cells to a younger state may one day restore function in aging tissues.
He also shares the most effective strategies available right now: exercise, sleep, nutrition, mental stimulation, and social connection. While supplements like Creatine may help, Eric stresses that lifestyle remains the foundation of long-term health.
Eric Verdin is a physician-scientist and CEO of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, where he leads research focused on extending human healthspan.
What You’ll Learn.
In 2013, I interviewed a man who studies cyborgs and war for a living.
Somewhere in that conversation, Prof. Chris Hables Gray predicted a global pandemic. I chimed in that it would most likely stem from a bird flu outbreak.
We were both right. Neither of us wanted to be.
That was six years before COVID. And here we are in 2026, watching H5N1 headlines pile up again.
The point was never the prediction. The point was what he said we should do about it.
Chris did not pitch a gadget. He did not sell a forecast. He argued that surviving the century is not a technology problem; it is a citizenship problem.
Having a swarm of microbots moving across your body may sound like the stuff of a horror movie, but it could actually be the future of targeted drug delivery and advanced wound healing. Scientists have developed a way to use blue and red light as a remote control to assemble and disperse swarms of biohybrid microrobots that could one day transform how we treat injuries.
Details of the research are in a paper published in the journal Science Advances.
The microrobots come in two parts. The first is a living green microalga called Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (CR), which uses two tail-like structures (flagella) to swim through aquatic environments and respond to light.
Sobek was born and raised in Argentina, but he also grew up at MIT over the course of three degrees and more than a decade. He first studied aeronautics and astronautics at MIT, then jumped to mechanical engineering as a graduate student, then moved to the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, where he worked under PhD advisors and MIT professors Martha Gray and Stephen Senturia. His thesis focused on a technique for quickly measuring optical properties of large numbers of biological cells.
“A lot of my learnings around microfabrication and materials chemistry ended up being really relevant for 1s1,” Sobek says. “A class that was very important to me was taught by Professor Amar Bose. I was a teaching assistant for him for a couple of semesters, and that had an incredible influence on my thinking.”
Following graduation, Sobek worked in microelectronics and microfluidics before founding his own company, Zymera, in 2004. The company developed deep-tissue imaging technology for detecting cancer and other serious diseases.
The report, titled “Pathways to Longevity”, introduces several important longevity concepts to the general reader and is another sign that the field is coming of age and entering the mainstream.
People do want to live longer
From time to time, Harvard Health Publishing issues Special Health Reports – consumer-facing, doctor-reviewed guides translating medical research for general readers. Previous reports included topics such as Alzheimer’s and heart disease. This new one, presented to the public earlier this week, is dedicated to healthy longevity. While this report, aimed mostly at curious laypeople and priced at $29, might not reveal a trove of new information to a longevity-savvy reader, it is an unmistakable sign that longevity science and the very idea of extending lifespan and healthspan are finally entering the mainstream.
A newly identified protein called GPNMB may play a major role in helping Parkinson’s disease spread through the brain. Researchers discovered that immune cells release the protein in response to damaged neurons, creating a vicious cycle that speeds up brain cell degeneration. In early experiments, antibodies that blocked GPNMB stopped the toxic process from spreading between cells.
A study from Anglia Ruskin University showed that eye drops with oxysterol compound (VP1-001) may treat cataracts without surgery. The study’s results were published on May 2nd, 2022, in the peer-reviewed journal Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. A cataract is an eye disorder in which clouding of the eye lens worsens over time and disrupts the quality of vision. A cataract is a disorder in which the proteins in the lens accumulate & make a cluster or cloud. This cloud scatters light and significantly limits its transmission to the retina. Cataract is the most common cause of visual loss in the world. According to the report of WHO (10 August 2023), 17% of people are globally affected with vision impairment due to cataracts at age 40 or older. At present, cataract surgery is the only way for the treatment of cataracts. In this surgical procedure the hazy lens is replaced with an artificial intraocular lens. Including economical burdens, cataract surgery has many complications like inflammation, xerophthalmia macular oedema, and posterior capsular opacificationHowever, a few scientists at Anglia Ruskin University under the supervision of Prof. Barbara, Deputy Dean in the Faculty of Health, Education, Medicine, and Social Care, conducted optical tests on an oxysterol compound that is considered an anti-cataract drug. They prepared new eye drops that could get rid of cataracts without surgery. VP1-001 is a chemical that is in these drops. It works by repairing the protein clumps in the eye lens that make it cloudy. A single drop increased the lens’s clarity and focusing capacity when tested on mice with cataracts. The study’s results were published on May 2nd, 2022, in the peer-reviewed journal Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. Outcomes of optical tests with eye drops The outcomes were good: 61% of the eyes that were treated were better able to focus due to the improvement in the refractive index profiles 46% of them became clearer and more transparent. Results: This is a huge advance since it means that some cataracts might be able to be cured with drugs instead of surgery. But the drops didn’t work on all kinds of cataracts, so additional research is needed to find therapies that work for everyone. Moreover, these drops aren’t available for individuals now. More research is needed These drops aren’t available for individuals now, but this is a big step forward, especially in countries where eye surgery is hard to get. This study is a hope towards non-surgical treatment of cataracts with the oxysterol compound (VP1-001). Cataract surgery is a safe and effective solution, as it completely replaces the clouded lens with an artificial one. The oxysterol compound (VP1-001) is still in the preclinical stage and not approved for human use. It’s under clinical trials. Moreover, safety testing will be confirmed before public availability. 📌 Published in: Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (May 2, 2022) by Anglia Ruskin University Frequently asked questions 1. What are the types of cataracts? Caract can be classified by many wayss; however, it can be categorised into three types, on the basis of cloud location/formation, that are Posterior subcapsular cataract Age-related cataracts. Cortical cataracts. Nuclear Cataracts. 2. What are the risk factors of cataracts? Age is the major factor of cataracts, especially at 40 or above. other factors include diabetes, smoking, obesity, hypersensitivity, excessive exposure to sunlight, eye injury or inflammation, etc. 3. Are there any eye drops or drugs to treat cataracts without surgery? As of now (2025), there is no approved eye drop or drug that can treat or reverse cataracts without surgery, but research at Anglia Ruskin University showed that the experimental drug VP1-001 (oxysterol-based eye drops) works as an anti-cataract in animal trials. 4. What are the complications of cataract surgery? Many complications, like inflammation, xerophthalmia, and macular oedema, can occur as post-surgical conditions. 5. What is the oxysterol compound VP1-001? Oxysterol compound VP1-001, also known as compound 29, has shown a significant effect on the treatment of cataracts in a trial on mice. It reduces the opaqueness of the lens that may occur due to risk factors like ageing & mutation. Premium SEO Backlinks