The latest on Methuselah, health span research, and regenerative medicine
We often hear talk of slowing down our epigenetic, (or aging) clock… but what exactly does that entail? And how can we go about executing this feat? A paper published in 2017 by Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP), lays a foundation to “understand the epigenetic contribution to healthy aging and longevity and the molecular basis of the DNA methylation clock.”
Read MoreOur PubMed screening during February 2020 had several especially noteworthy papers to choose from to highlight in our blog. Ultimately however, we decided to focus on this report of a remarkable 36% extension of average female mouse lifespan when given an ovarian transplant in middle-age. These results suggest that, at least in females, ovarian function may affect healthspan and lifespan to a greater extent than is usually appreciated at the present time.
Read MoreThis past week the MIT Technology Review published their 10 Breakthrough Technologies for 2020, and we were excited to see a company we’ve invested in, Oisín Biotechnologies, make the list as one of the “Key Players” in the anti-aging space. Their groundbreaking research and technology is “demonstrating that the solution to mitigating the effects of age-related diseases is to address the damage created by the aging process itself”.
Read MoreWith confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the US, Europe and abroad, a growing number of people are rightly concerned what the odds of them contracting the virus is, how it can be avoided, and how they can prepare for a potential lockdown or quarantine in their area. The below page, from cdc.gov, contains concise and updated information including: the global situation summary, what you need to know, how you can protect your home, and even information for specific audiences such as medical professionals, teachers, and those who travel frequently.
Read MoreA study published in January by researchers in Greece recently focused on the importance of muscle mass in those 45 years of age and older, with no pre-existing heart conditions. Participants in the study were tested and then reassessed 10 years later.
Read MoreAccording to the World Health Organization, more people are now dying from being overweight than underweight. And while obesity has long been known to cause premature death, researchers at Concordia University are now arguing that obesity directly accelerates the mechanisms of aging. The researchers write that obesity influences a number of alterations associated with aging. Hopefully this research will help people better understand how obesity works and stimulate ideas on how to treat it.
Read MoreZombies; Senescent cells resisting death, building up, and wreaking havoc on the aging body. In October we published an interview with our friends at Oisín Bio who are working on removal of these zombie cells without collateral damage. Now at Kings College London, thanks to a £125,000 research grant from Heart Research UK, Senolytic drugs and their practical application will be focused on.
Read MoreOrgans are in high demand. Because of this, biomanufactured organs are viewed by many as the next frontier of scientific research and development. Our friends Jordan Miller, Bagrat Grigoryan, and their team at Volumetric Bio are working to make that a reality now. This article discusses where their research is at now and the practical benefits of what they’re doing.
Read MoreSome 60%-90% of drugs that are successful in rodents… fail in humans. However, researchers at Harvard University and Tel Aviv University have developed a new model that might address this problem: mini human organs on a chip. These separate “organ chips” can be connected to create a “mini human on a chip”, to test the effects of different treatments and medications on multiple organs and systems.
Read MoreAs we age, it’s even more vital for our bodies to absorb nutrients, however nutrient malabsorption increases in the elderly, often leading to anemia and other illnesses. A recent study has identified a protein complex, mTORC1, a sensor of nutrients and growth factors, which is a central regulator of aging and a target for lifespan and healthspan extension.
Read MoreThe annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference is one of the largest healthcare investment symposiums in the industry, bringing together industry leaders, emerging fast-growth companies, innovative technology creators, and members of the investment community. We had the privilege of attending this month alongside our partners at Leucadia, Turn Bio, OncoSenX, Volumetric, Viscient, Oisín Bio, and the Methuselah Fund.
Read MoreA remarkable report was published on July 11, 2018 which some readers may have heard about. There are not many interventions known to improve physical function and extend remaining lifespan when given to mice in old age. However, the consistently positive results reported in this study suggest that, at the very least, using this particular senolytic cocktail intermittently appears to have multiple benefits in old mice, and suggest that senolytics may be worth testing in aging humans.
Read MoreAging is the principal risk factor in many chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular, and metabolic & neurological diseases. There is therefore great interest in the development of accurate age biomarkers that can be targeted and measured to track the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions and other lifestyle adjustments. In this recent paper, Alex Zhavoronkov et al. show how deep learning algorithms can help advance aging research.
Read MorePatients, researchers, pharmaceutical companies, clinicians, amongst others, all rely on the release of clinical trial results. Despite this, a report published by The Lancet indicated that only 41% of completed clinical trials reported results within the deadline. In the meantime, a team at Oxford are doing their part, using AI and Machine Learning to spot unreported trials, advocating on behalf of all those who could benefit from proper reporting, and encouraging sponsors to report. Learn more about this problem below.
Read MoreWhat do you see when you look in the mirror? Do you see more wrinkles than yesterday? Can you tell if your hairline has receded slightly? Isn’t it impossible to perceive these subtle visual queues that we’re getting older? Noah Kalina, a photographer, found a way to document the changes we all experience in a timelapse video spanning the last 20 years.
Read MoreAs human life expectancy increases, it’s become clear we can’t just focus on simply extending the human lifespan, but rather extending our healthy lifespan (a concept now commonly referred to as “healthspan”). After all, what good is a long life when its plagued by illnesses for the final 40 years? This study, conducted by researchers at Harvard, included over 100,000 people tracked for more than 20 years, and discusses the effects that diet, exercise, smoking status, and other factors have on extending the healthspan in individuals over 50.
Read MoreCancer, Alzheimers, Cardiovascular diseases… as a scientific community it feels as though we’re always playing catch up. How many more people could be saved, how much more could we extend the healthspan (or healthy human lifespan) if instead we focused on being proactive? This article, written by a doctor at the University of Washington, focuses on the importance of targeting aging when discussing adding years to human life expectancy.
Read MoreBeing careful about what we put into our bodies is vital to maintaining our health, and potentially prolonging our healthy lifespan. Some centenarians have even been found to have taste receptors that gravitate towards healthier foods. We all wish we could find the perfect diet, however our bodies change as we age, thus calling for a change in diet as we get older. The main finding of this study is that lower consumption of protein in the mid-life, and higher consumption for the period of late age may benefit our health and longevity.
Read MoreMillions of people can be classified as having sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). Despite its prevalence however, its affect on aging hasn’t been well studied until recently. A study presented at SLEEP 2019 by researchers at Harvard Medical School has linked SDB with epigenetic age acceleration.
Read More
