Lifeboat Foundation

Sinclair lab enters human trials for DNA repair this year!

DNA is a critical part of the cell, it is the instruction manual for building cells. Whilst DNA is well protected within the cell nucleus damage does occur, therefore DNA repair is absolutely essential for cell function, cell survival and the prevention of cancer. The good news is cells are able to repair damaged DNA but the bad news is that this ability declines with aging for reasons as yet to be fully understood.

An exciting new study by researchers led by Dr. David Sinclair at Harvard Medical School shows a part of the process that enables cells to repair damaged DNA involving the signalling molecule NAD. This offers insight into how the body repairs DNA and why that repair system declines as we age. Before we get into the new research study let’s take a look at how DNA damage relates to aging and what NAD is.

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Nuclear fusion is the process that powers the sun, but closer to home scientists are trying to develop fusion reactors that could provide immense amounts of energy. These reactors are big and (currently) inefficient, but a NASA-funded startup called Princeton Satellite Systems is working on a small-scale fusion reactor that could power advanced fusion rockets. Suddenly, other planets and even other star systems could be in reach.

All the forms of rocket propulsion we currently have involve accelerating propellant out of a nozzle. Then, physics takes over and the vessel moves in the opposite direction. Most spacecraft use chemical propulsion, which provides a large amount of thrust over a relatively short period of time. Some missions have been equipped with ion drives, which use electrical currents to accelerate propellant. These engines are very efficient, but they have low thrust and require a lot of power. A fusion rocket might offer the best mix of capabilities.

Current nuclear reactors use fission to generate energy; large atomic nuclei are broken apart and some of that mass is transformed into energy. Fusion is the opposite. Small atomic nuclei are fused together, causing some mass to be converted into energy. This is what powers stars, but we’ve had trouble producing the necessary temperatures and pressure on Earth to get net positive energy generation.

Continue reading “NASA-Funded Startup to Build Fusion-Powered Rockets” »

Organs-on-Chips (Organ Chips) are emerging as powerful tools that allow researchers to study the physiology of human organs and tissues in ways not possible before. By mimicking normal blood flow, the mechanical microenvironment, and how different tissues physically interface with one another in living organs, they offer a more systematic approach to testing drugs than other in vitro methods that ultimately could help to replace animal testing.

As it can take weeks to grow human cells into intact differentiated and functional tissues within Organ Chips, such as those that mimic the lung and intestine, and researchers seek to understand how drugs, toxins or other perturbations alter tissue structure and function, the team at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering led by Donald Ingber has been searching for ways to non-invasively monitor the health and maturity of cells cultured within these microfluidic devices over extended times.

It has been particularly difficult to measure changes in electrical functions of cells grown within Organ Chips that are normally electrically active, such as neuronal cells in the brain or beating heart cells, both during their differentiation and in response to drugs.

Whilst looking through recent papers about biomarkers and this recent open access paper crossed my desk. The paper is the latest in a line of top to bottom reviews of aging biomarkers for humans. With companies like Unity Biotechnology and the David Sinclair lab entering human clinical trials later this year for senescent cell removal and DNA repair respectively, the development of effective biomarkers to measure how someone is aging and how therapies effect that are a matter of urgency.

Given that there are various causes of aging and that rejuvenation therapies will generally only target one or two of these processes, the first therapies will likely only be partially effective. The aging processes are all interlinked as well so affecting one may effect others, hence there is a need for a comprehensive panel of biomarkers in order for researchers to prove the efficacy of therapies.

Another thing to consider with a therapy such as senescent cell removal is, whilst you can measure how effective it is at removing senescent cells (to a reasonable degree using β-galactosidase etc…) being able to demonstrate the wider benefits of doing so is trickier. So the challenge here is to find a suitable range of biomarkers that can provide a good level of proof that rejuvenation has occurred when using these therapies. This means various measures of functional age and health are required, and these measures should be something the research community as a whole agree upon as being suitable.

If you are religious, or have religious friends worried about the implications of rejuvenation for their beliefs, this article may help.

Preamble: I am an atheist. So I don’t have any God-related issues concerning rejuvenation/living forever. Other people, though, may believe there’s an afterlife waiting for them once they die, or that curing ageing equals playing God. I don’t think these are particularly problematic concerns.

First, if anyone at all, believer or not, wishes to die at any point, I am in no position to object. It’s their life, not mine, and they can do with it whatever they see fit. If you are afraid of never reaching your god because of quasi-immortality, I think you should be free to die the way you wish, be it by ageing or whatever way you prefer (as long as you don’t take others down with you). I think it’d be crazy to terminate your life for this reason, but hey, whatever sinks floats your boat. It’s your choice, and you should be given it. Rejuvenation isn’t about forcing people to never die. It’s about giving them the possibility of living in perfect health for as long as they see fit.

A collaborative team of scientists and physicians from the Oxford University, Cambridge University, Imperial College London, University College London and King’s College London have made a remarkable progress towards curing patients with HIV infection.

Of 50 patients taking part in NHS funded revolutionary clinical trial, a 44-year-old British man is the first to complete the trial. He showed no sign of the virus in his blood following treatment.

HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus, is a retrovirus found in body fluids of infected person. These can be semen, vaginal and anal fluids, blood, and breast milk. It can be easily transmitted through unprotected sex or simply sharing infected needles. An infected mother can also transmit HIV to her child during pregnancy, delivery, or breastfeeding.

Continue reading “Scientists Make Remarkable Progress Towards Curing HIV” »

LEAF caught up with Futurist David Wood at the recent International Longevity and Cryopreservation Summit in Madrid to talk about rejuvenation biotechnology.

We recently attended the International Longevity and Cryopreservation Summit in Madrid. LEAF director Elena Milova caught up with futurist David Wood at the summit to ask him about his work and his views on the development of rejuvenation biotechnology.

Continue reading “David Wood – We Should Prepare for the Future Now” »

Fun in fiction. Perhaps not so much in reality.

The human mind is already pretty open to manipulation—just ask anyone who works in advertising. But neural implant technology could potentially open up a direct digital link to our innermost thoughts that could be exploited by hackers.

In recent months, companies like Elon Musk’s Neuralink, Kernel, and Facebook have unveiled plans to create devices that will provide a two-way interface between human brains and machines.

Continue reading “Neural Implant Tech Raises the Specter of Brainjacking” »