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Category: biotech/medical – Page 127

BREAKTHROUGH CHOLESTEROL CURE Lowers LDL For Life

New LDL Drug Could Cure Heart Disease. Eli Lilly published Phase 1 data in the New England Journal of Medicine showing that a single IV infusion of a gene editing therapy called VERVE-102 lowered LDL cholesterol permanently. Well… the effect held for at least 18 months. Longevity Twitter immediately called it the cure for heart disease. The science is real. The hype is getting ahead of what the paper actually says. This episode walks through the Phase 1 Heart-2 trial — the data, the base-editing mechanism (which is NOT CRISPR), the one safety event nobody’s talking about, and how Eli Lilly’s CEO is publicly thinking about pricing a one-and-done cure.

HUME BODY POD DISCOUNT UP TO 50% OFF:
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https://humehealth.com/pages/hume-bod… Latte: https://longevitylatte.shop TIMESTAMPS 0:00 — Cold Open 1:41 — Sponsor: Hume Body Pod 2:53 — Intro: The Cholesterol Paradox 4:48 — How Statins Work 5:36 — PCSK9 Targeting 7:38 — How VERVE-102 Works 9:16 — The Results 12:16 — Other Drugs and Pricing 15:12 — Natural Alternatives 17:42 — Other One and Done Drugs 18:40 — Longevity Latte SOURCES & LINKS NEJM paper (Vafai, Täubel, Patel, Kathiresan et al.): https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056… Eli Lilly press release on Phase 1 Heart-2 data: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-relea… ClinicalTrials.gov Heart-2 trial entry (NCT06164730): https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT0… Verve Therapeutics FDA Fast Track designation announcement: https://vervetx.gcs-web.com/news-rele… Cohen and Hobbs 2006 NEJM paper (the foundational PCSK9 loss-of-function discovery): https://www.nejm.org/doi/abs/10.1056/.… Dave Ricks (Eli Lilly CEO) on Cheeky Pint with Patrick and John Collison: • Dave Ricks, CEO of Eli Lilly, on GLP-1s an… FOURIER trial (evolocumab cardiovascular outcomes): https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056… ODYSSEY OUTCOMES trial (alirocumab cardiovascular outcomes): https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056… PCSK9 LoF and diabetes (Mendelian randomization, Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology): https://www.thelancet.com/journals/la… PCSK9 inhibition and diabetes risk review: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles… StatPearls overview of PCSK9 inhibitors: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NB… Sardinia cholesterol paradox study: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles… Statin pleiotropic effects review (mevalonate pathway): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti… Berberine as a nature-made PCSK9 inhibitor review: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti… Berberine for dyslipidaemias meta-analysis: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30466… Pomegranate juice, carotid IMT, and LDL oxidation (Aviram 3-year study): https://www.clinicalnutritionjournal… LATEST EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: [Ariel Garten / Muse headset interview YouTube URL] ABOUT LONGEVITY SCIENCE NEWS Longevity Science News covers the latest breakthroughs in anti-aging research, regenerative medicine, longevity biotech, and the science of extending human healthspan and lifespan. Hosted by Emmett Short. Disclaimer: This video is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Consult a qualified clinician before making health or treatment decisions. EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS & BONUS CONTENT Patreon: https://patreon.com/u29506604?utm_med… YT Membership: / @longevitysciencenews PRODUCTION CREDITS Executive Producer – Keith Comito Host, Producer, Writer – Emmett Short.

Longevity Latte:
https://longevitylatte.shop.

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 — Cold Open.
1:41 — Sponsor: Hume Body Pod.
2:53 — Intro: The Cholesterol Paradox.
4:48 — How Statins Work.
5:36 — PCSK9 Targeting.
7:38 — How VERVE-102 Works.
9:16 — The Results.
12:16 — Other Drugs and Pricing.
15:12 — Natural Alternatives.
17:42 — Other One and Done Drugs.
18:40 — Longevity Latte.

SOURCES \& LINKS
NEJM paper (Vafai, Täubel, Patel, Kathiresan et al.): https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056…
Eli Lilly press release on Phase 1 Heart-2 data: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-relea…
ClinicalTrials.gov Heart-2 trial entry (NCT06164730): https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT0…
Verve Therapeutics FDA Fast Track designation announcement: https://vervetx.gcs-web.com/news-rele…
Cohen and Hobbs 2006 NEJM paper (the foundational PCSK9 loss-of-function discovery): https://www.nejm.org/doi/abs/10.1056/.…
Dave Ricks (Eli Lilly CEO) on Cheeky Pint with Patrick and John Collison: • Dave Ricks, CEO of Eli Lilly, on GLP-1s an…

Jacque Fresco: Apply the Methods of Science to the Social System!

I have to confess something about this interview.

I really liked Jacque Fresco. Not as a thinker I was supposed to admire, but as a person: the humor, the humility, the scientific curiosity still burning at 97.

That made the disagreements harder, not easier.

Fresco spent almost a century arguing one idea. We apply the methods of #science to engineering, to medicine, to flight. Then we run our economies and our politics on opinion, tradition, and the preferences of the financial elite.

He thought we had it exactly inverted. Rigor for the machines, guesswork for the humans.

“Technology was never the hard part. The harder question is what kind of society we want it to serve.”

Continue reading “Jacque Fresco: Apply the Methods of Science to the Social System!” | >

OpenAI’s quiet co-founder steps out

OpenAI co-founder Wojciech Zaremba doesn’t do many interviews.

We recently spoke about why he moved over to help run the company’s nonprofit arm.

His reaction to Anthropic speaking alongside the Pope: “I have more bias towards doing. Let’s actually solve the problems, and let’s speak about the exact plan.”

Wojciech Zaremba recently bought a copy of “House on Fire,” a 2011 memoir by epidemiologist William Foege about the campaign that wiped smallpox off the planet. He’s using it as a guidebook for executing what is about to become one of the largest philanthropic efforts of all time.

Zaremba is one of OpenAI’s least well-known co-founders. He has spent more than a decade at the company across a range of efforts, from leading its early robotics efforts to starting the team that guides OpenAI’s personality and what became reasoning models. In March, he left the frontier research world to run AI “resilience” at OpenAI’s nonprofit foundation.

Zaremba and I spoke ahead of a post that the OpenAI Foundation published Monday morning titled “Resilience in the Age of AI,” which names four areas it will initially fund: biosecurity, cybersecurity, model safety, and AI’s effect on kids. After $100 million for fighting Alzheimer’s with AI in April and $250 million for researching “economic futures” last week, the initial $25 billion grant machine Zaremba helps oversee is spinning up.

Continue reading “OpenAI’s quiet co-founder steps out” | >

Tiny brain probe reveals how deep-brain neurons can be measured and manipulated

A new breakthrough technology, co-developed by UCL scientists, that simultaneously records and manipulates neuron activity deep within the brain could transform our understanding of neural circuits and neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia.

The device, known as Neuropixels Opto and researched in mice, integrates two powerful but traditionally separate techniques—electrophysiology (the study of the electrical activity of living cells) and optogenetics (combining genetics and optics to control cells). They form a single probe, enabling unprecedented insight into how individual neurons in the brain function and interact.

Published in Nature Methods, the system allows researchers to monitor the electrical activity of hundreds of neurons while also selectively activating or silencing specific cells using light.

Why some tumors resist immunotherapy: Blocking miR-25 may help turn ‘cold’ cancers ‘hot’

Immune checkpoint therapy, a type of cancer immunotherapy that helps the immune system recognize and attack tumors, has transformed cancer treatment. While these therapies can produce long-lasting benefits for some patients, many cancers either fail to respond or become resistant over time.

One major challenge is the tumor microenvironment —the network of cells and signals surrounding tumors that can weaken immune cells and protect cancer from treatment. This protective environment can act like a shield that prevents immunotherapy from working effectively.

Researchers at University of California San Diego investigated whether microRNAs —small RNA molecules that help control gene activity—play a role in creating this treatment-resistant environment. The team focused on microRNA-25 (miR-25), which stood out after analyses showed that its levels changed in tumors that responded to immunotherapy.

Targeted therapy reduces risk of lung cancer recurrence by 83% in rare genetic subtype

A new study co-led by investigators at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center shows that the targeted cancer drug selpercatinib can significantly reduce the risk of lung cancer returning in patients with a rare genetic subtype of early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), potentially offering a new treatment option to help keep the disease from coming back after standard therapy.

The international phase 3 clinical trial, called LIBRETTO-432, found that after two years, 92% of patients with stage II–IIIA RET fusion-positive NSCLC who received selpercatinib after standard treatment were alive without their cancer returning—a measure known as event-free survival—compared with 61% of patients who received a placebo. Overall, the treatment reduced the risk of cancer recurrence or death by 83%.

The results were shared during the Plenary Session on May 31 at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting by Dr. Jonathan Goldman, Health Sciences Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. The paper was also published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Children’s brain tumors may spread faster when microglia build invasion-friendly scaffolding

Researchers at the Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM), Karolinska Institutet, have identified a possible mechanism behind the spread of the aggressive brain tumor diffuse midline glioma. The study shows that the brain’s own immune cells, microglia, may contribute to the tumor’s invasive capacity by producing the protein fibronectin. The results are published in the journal Cell Death & Disease.

Diffuse midline glioma (DMG), also known as diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), is a rare but highly aggressive brain tumor that primarily affects children. There is currently no effective treatment, and the prognosis is very poor.

In the present study, the researchers investigated how microglia—the brain’s immune cells—are affected by tumor cells and what role they play in disease progression.

Scientists discover inherited traits that break Mendel’s Laws of genetics

A major mouse study found that some inherited traits are passed down through epigenetic changes that break the classic rules of genetics. Researchers discovered hundreds of cases where these chemical DNA marks behaved unexpectedly, including some that seemed to emerge out of nowhere. They also identified the first known naturally occurring paramutation in a mammal, hinting that environmental influences may play a larger role in inheritance than scientists realized.

For real heart protection, the weekly exercise number climbs far beyond current advice

Adults should aim to do between 560 and 610 minutes a week of moderate to vigorous physical activity to achieve a substantial reduction in the risk of heart attacks and stroke, suggest the findings of an observational study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

This is between three to four times higher than the current public health recommendation that adults do at least 150 minutes a week of moderate to vigorous physical exercise such as brisk walking, running, or cycling.

People who are less fit need to do slightly more exercise than those who are very fit to get the same cardiovascular benefits, the study suggests.

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