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Category: biotech/medical – Page 41

Genome study reveals centromeres as one of the fastest-changing regions in human DNA

A centromere is a specific region on a chromosome that ensures that, when a cell divides, the chromosome separates accurately so each new cell receives the correct amount of genetic material. Despite their essential role, centromeres remain one of the last major blind spots in the human genome.

A recent study published in Nature set out to reveal what had been hidden inside human centromeres, using advanced long-read sequencing and custom-built computational tools to piece together 2,110 complete centromeres. The researchers sampled individuals from 28 population groups across five continents, then compared their centromeres with 5,747 assembled by the Human Pangenome Reference Consortium to trace how these regions differ and evolve.

They discovered 226 major centromere haplotypes—distinct genetic patterns—and 1,870 new genetic variants. By studying a four-generation family, they were able to follow centromeres as they changed from parent to child, tracking genetic changes across generations.

The AI Future Is for Everyone

Putting power in people’s hands to pursue their own aspirations is how humanity has made the most progress. Novel ideas and major steps forward rarely originate from established institutions alone. They came from the brothers in a bicycle shop who believed people could fly, the bookbinder’s apprentice with no schooling who figured out how to generate electricity, and the kid in a garage who thought personal computers could be for everyone. We believe this will continue to be true. As everyone gains more powerful tools, each person will become more capable of shaping the future, not less.

Invention, not automation, will be the greatest contribution of superintelligence. Early AI could answer questions and do routine work. Soon it will increasingly help discover new knowledge—from discovering new drugs to cure a family member’s disease to finding new ways to improve your business. While the number of questions you can ask in a day is limited, the number of valuable things superintelligence can invent to help achieve your goals is unlimited.

As intelligence becomes abundant, the most important question will be how we direct it. Some argue that superintelligence itself, or a small set of experts who control it, should decide what is best for humanity. I disagree. The history of democracy and economics has shown that there is no single objective answer to how people define the best life, and therefore the best approach is letting people decide what matters to them.

Dr. Dominique Darvas | The Bioreactor of Youth

Supporting scientists, entrepreneurs, funders, and institutional partners in advancing biotechnology to reverse aging, extend human healthspan, and improve the human condition. This group is sponsored by 100 Plus Capital. http://100pluscap.com/

Dr. Dominique Darvas | The Bioreactor of Youth.

Abstract: For five thousand years, humanity has sought the fountain of youth. Today, the stem cells we expand in our laboratories also dream of it. Before we were born, each of us held it in our veins for a fleeting moment. HALOS Biosciences is engineering it in a bioreactor.

Company profile: HALOS Biosciences is engineering the world’s first lab-grown human fetal plasma: a synthetic, scalable, and ethical recreation of the most regenerative biochemical environment in human biology as a platform technology for cell culture and regenerative medicine.

Short Bio: Dr. Dominique Darvas, CEO MD PhD with a clinical background in emergency medicine and a first doctoral thesis in emergency blood transfusion protocols. Second specialization in anti-aging and longevity medicine at Université Paris Descartes with a second thesis in mitohormesis. Co-founder of Clinique Cleage Genève (anti-aging and aesthetic clinic in Geneva). Direct clinical experience with blood composition, therapeutic protocols, and regenerative medicine. Active in the longevity biotech community as both fellow and counsellor of the Longevity Biotech Fellowship, resident at Vitalist Bay 2025 and speaker at Synbiobeta 2026.

About The Foresight Institute.

Continue reading “Dr. Dominique Darvas | The Bioreactor of Youth” | >

Molecular structures provide roadmap for targeted Parkinson’s disease therapeutics

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have uncovered how a key Parkinson’s protein called LRRK2 shifts between inactive and active forms, revealing the structural changes that enable certain mutations to push the protein into an overactive state. Mutations that cause LRRK2 to become abnormally active are among the most common genetic causes of Parkinson’s disease. Even without these mutations, some people with Parkinson’s disease have elevated LRRK2 activity.

Understanding exactly how LRRK2 becomes overactive has become increasingly important because it is one of the leading targets for developing treatments that could slow Parkinson’s disease.

Using electron microscopy and biochemistry, the team captured the structure of LRRK2 in different states, enabling them to elucidate how the protein toggles between active and inactive forms. The findings, published in Cell, point toward a new generation of targeted therapies.

Abstract: Krembil Brain Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

3 Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

4Section of Molecular Hematology and Therapy, Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.

Simple blood test on a chip could help diagnose lung cancer

Researchers at Tel Aviv University have developed a new method for diagnosing lung cancer: a simple, fast, low-cost blood test that does not require DNA sequencing. The method identifies a chemical fingerprint of cancer cells in the blood by analyzing cell-free DNA originating from those cells. In the study, the test distinguished between lung cancer patients and healthy individuals with a sensitivity of 93.1% and a specificity of 90.3% for patients with stage 2–4 disease.

The study was led by Prof. Yuval Ebenstein of the School of Chemistry at the Faculty of Exact Sciences, the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Zimin Institute at Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with researchers from JaxBio Technologies, Bnai Zion Medical Center and Sheba Medical Center. The paper is published in the journal npj Precision Oncology.

DNA repair enzymes favor specific sequences, shaping mutation patterns in the human genome

When a wound does not heal properly, it leaves a scar. Similarly, mutations—which are permanent changes to genetic code—are often the result of damaged DNA that has not been properly repaired. Mutations can impede the function of genes and lead to disease and aging, but they are also the source of genetic variation, which allows new traits to emerge and facilitates the evolutionary process. Scientists still do not fully understand why some damaged DNA segments are successfully repaired while others are not.

In a new study published in Nature Communications, researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science succeeded in identifying which DNA sequences and structures are the preferred targets for several of the most important DNA repair enzymes. The findings from the laboratory of Dr. Ariel Afek suggest that these preferences shaped the human genome and could even help explain how cells become cancerous.

Every day, thousands of chemical reactions take place in every living cell, damaging the genome. “When DNA repair systems work properly, they repair most of the damage, but not all of it,” Afek explains. “Therefore, the rate at which mutations accumulate is a balance between the rate of damage and the rate of repair.

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