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Category: biotech/medical – Page 2481

A team of researchers from Sun Yat-sen University have used gene editing to correct a potentially fatal blood condition. This world-first accomplishment represents the first step to a future where we literally edit disease out of our bodies.

Beta-thalassemia is a blood disorder that plagues individuals throughout the entirety of their lives. There is no truly viable cure. The only real hope that people have of overcoming this disease is either a stem cell or bone marrow transplant; however, these procedures are rarely performed due to the life-threatening risk that comes with them.

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Researchers at Macquarie University have discovered that a naturally occurring protein in the body protects the eye from the common eye disease glaucoma, which is particularly sensitive to oxidation through environmental factors that may include cigarette smoke. The findings were published in Scientific Reports.

The researchers have demonstrated that the protein “neuroserpin” is critical to a healthy retina, regulating other enzymes and maintaining a natural protective environment in the eye.

Neuroserpin belongs to a family of proteins “serpins” that are particularly sensitive to oxidation through environmental factors.

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Scientists have struggled to develop a single substance that can both speed up wound healing and reduce the formation of scars. Scar reduction medications tend to interfere with the natural process of healing, but now a team of researchers has created a novel skin patch that can reduce scarring and increase the pace of wound healing.

The team from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore discovered a key protein called Angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4) plays several roles over different phases of healing. ANGPTL4 not only reduces inflammation and induces new cell growth, but in later stages of healing it produces molecules that interfere with a key protein that induces scar tissue.

Excessive collagen production is a key factor in the scarring we are familiar with when a wound heals. The key to the new innovation was developing a way to modulate collagen production without turning it off completely, as it is fundamentally necessary for wound repair.

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This report on the NAD booster nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) will definetly be of interest to Lifeboat members.

NAD is the fountain of youth in mice and is boosted by NMN. This report includes highlights of Aug 2017 interview with Dr. David Sinclair, the researcher who discovered that the anti-aging molecule NAD has rejuvenating effects on mice.

Summary: NMN as a NAD-boosting anti-aging drug. Highlights of the August 2017 interview with David Sinclair, the scientist who discovered that the fountain of youth molecule NAD has remarkable rejuvenating effects on mice. The career of David Sinclair follows a link between sirtuins, resveratrol, NAD-boosting anti-aging compound nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), and calorie restriction.

Professor David A. Sinclair, Ph.D. has discovered what may be the fountain of youth. The Australian geneticist with the UNSW School of Medical Sciences and Harvard Medical School reported that by boosting NAD, a naturally-occurring compound found in our bodies, he was able to reverse DNA damage and turn elderly mice into energetic young ones.

Continue reading “Dr. David Sinclair, Discoverer of Anti-aging NAD Fad, Speaks About Human Trials of NMN” | >

Dr. Mark Katakowski makes the case that rejuvenation of the bone marrow niche is a practical approach to life-extension today. Mark is President of the longevity company Forever Labs, and is a medical physicist with extensive experience developing stem cell therapies for neurological disease and injury.

Mark was first to demonstrate that microRNA functions as a communication molecule between brain tumor cells, a previously unknown mechanism of intercellular eukaryotic gene regulation. Based upon his use of stem cells to treat age-related disease, Mark surmises that rejuvenating the bone marrow provides significant opportunity to combat aging.

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This is the moment at which I press Dr Leeson to come clean and tell me if I might live to 300 because of pluripotent stem cells that could be set free to regrow or recreate bits of my anatomy as they wear out. Is this science fiction or is this real, I ask?

‘It’s real — it’s already happening…’

Oxford Today talks to the Director of the Oxford Institute of Ageing, Dr George Leeson.

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Jim Mellon and Al Chalabi are back with another successful venture into the world of science investment. Following their acclaimed 2012 book “Cracking the code”, whose spotlight was on the life sciences industry, Juvenescence takes us on a compelling journey through the dawning market of longevity and rejuvenation biotechnology, which the authors predict will be the biggest “money fountain” to hit the financial world in the coming years.

Juvenescence is a visionary book, debunking the sometimes questionable past of longevity research and steering us towards a ‘brave new world’ in which advances in medicine are already leading to clinical trials whose aim is to extend human lifespan to unprecedented levels.

Mellon and Chalabi come across as eloquent devotees of cold, hard science, and for a book targeted primarily at investors, biologists and experts will be hard-pressed to find inaccuracies in the many heavily technical sections. The authors explain the science of aging in an engaging and accessible manner, bridging the gap between the lab and the public with ease and tact. They employ elegant metaphors to explain complex processes as well as some light-hearted ones, including the “Deadly Quintet”, which reads more like the title of a long-lost Tarantino film, or the “Actuarial Escape Velocity”, a reference to the controversial “Longevity Escape Velocity” promoted by Aubrey de Grey. Mellon and Chalabi use state-of-the-art research whenever possible, with recent, fresh-from-the-lab studies making up the majority of sources.

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