Note: This post is co-authored with Stacy Li, a PhD student at Berkeley studying aging biology! Highly appreciate all her help in writing, editing, and fact-checking my understanding!
Proposed lunar biorepository could store genetic samples without electricity or liquid nitrogen. New research led by scientists at the Smithsonian proposes a plan to safeguard Earth’s imperiled biodiversity by cryogenically preserving biological material on the moon. The moon’s permanently shadowed craters are cold enough for cryogenic preservation without the need for electricity or liquid nitrogen, according to the researchers.
The paper, published today in BioScience and written in collaboration with researchers from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI), Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum and others, outlines a roadmap to create a lunar biorepository, including ideas for governance, the types of biological material to be stored and a plan for experiments to understand and address challenges such as radiation and microgravity. The study also demonstrates the successful cryopreservation of skin samples from a fish, which are now stored at the National Museum of Natural History.
“Initially, a lunar biorepository would target the most at-risk species on Earth today, but our ultimate goal would be to cryopreserve most species on Earth,” said Mary Hagedorn, a research cryobiologist at NZCBI and lead author of the paper. “We hope that by sharing our vision, our group can find additional partners to expand the conversation, discuss threats and opportunities and conduct the necessary research and testing to make this biorepository a reality.”
M any prominent people in the tech industry have talked about the increasing convergence between humans and machines in coming decades. For example, Elon Musk has reportedly said he wants humans to merge with AI “to achieve a symbiosis with artificial intelligence”
His company Neuralink aims to facilitate this convergence so that humans won’t be “left behind” as technology advances in the future. While people with disabilities would be near-term recipients of these innovations, some believe technologies like this could be used to enhance abilities in everyone.
These aims are inspired by an idea called transhumanism, the belief that we should use science and technology to radically enhance human capabilities and seek to direct our own evolutionary path. Disease, aging and death are all realities transhumanists wish to end, alongside dramatically increasing our cognitive, emotional and physical capacities.
What if our lifespan could be extended beyond its natural limits? Recently, scientists have made a significant leap towards this very real possibility with the discovery and study of an important longevity gene.
This gene has shown promise in promoting cellular repair and reducing the effects of aging, generating excitement in the scientific community about new methods for extending healthy lives, not just longer lives.
As we learn more about the mechanisms behind this particular longevity gene, we may soon uncover new strategies that could revolutionize how we approach human aging and lifespan, ultimately changing the way we live.
University of Queensland researchers have discovered a mechanism in DNA that regulates how disease-causing mutations are inherited.
Dr Anne Hahn and Associate Professor Steven Zuryn from UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute said the findings could provide a promising therapeutic avenue to stop the onset of heritable and age-related diseases.
“Mitochondrial DNA is essential for cell function,” Dr Hahn said.
For generations, humans have tried to find the elixir which can extend their lives beyond their natural limit and deceive death.
Now, scientists have made a discovery of a gene which has brought humanity very close to this impossible target of achieving longevity.
The gene has been found to possess the capability of promoting cellular repair and reducing the effects of ageing. This discovery has taken the scientific community close to finding methods for extending not just long but healthy lives.
Summary: New research in mice reveals that aging slows the brain’s ability to clear out harmful waste, contributing to neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Scientists have found that restoring function in the brain’s waste-clearing system, known as the glymphatic system, can reverse these age-related effects.
Using a clinically approved drug, researchers increased the efficiency of waste removal, offering a potential treatment strategy for age-related brain diseases.
The new research harnesses previously unknown features of this ancient viral DNA, creating a biological clock to track a person’s age from the DNA’s chemical changes.
And the researchers now believe that new antiretroviral therapies, similar to those used to fight the HIV virus and AIDS, might one day help reverse the signs of aging.
‘Our findings indicate that retroelement clocks capture previously undetected facets of biological aging,’ said study co-author Dr Michael Corley, an assistant professor of immunology at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York.
Researchers have discovered cells in a sea anemone that might explain its potential immortality. These cells, regulated by ancient genes, offer insights into regeneration and aging processes that could illuminate human health and longevity.
The study reveals how these genes, active in humans for forming reproductive cells, also confer regenerative abilities on cnidarians, a group of animals including sea anemones.
Discovering Immortality in Sea Anemones.
This creature can regress to the larval stage. Sometimes better start from the beginning 😉
Meet the tiny, gelatinous animal that has found a way to live forever.
