“SuperAgers” keep razor-sharp memories past 80, but a new study shows this is not just down to good genes.
Category: biotech/medical – Page 56
RNA Medicines, Human Genetics & The Future of Obesity Treatment | Dr. Erik Ingelsson
Dr. Erik Ingelsson, MD, PhD — Chief Scientific Officer of Wave Life Sciences.
For decades we’ve measured obesity using one simple number on a scale — but what if that’s the wrong metric? Today, one of the world’s leading experts in genetics explains why the future of obesity medicine may not be about losing more weight, but about losing the right kind of fat while preserving the muscle that keeps us healthy.
Dr. Erik Ingelsson, MD, PhD is a physician-scientist and internationally recognized leader in human genetics, genomics, and metabolic disease research. He currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer at Wave Life Sciences (https://wavelifesciences.com/), where he leads the development of next-generation RNA medicines designed to address major unmet medical needs.
Before joining Wave, Dr. Ingelsson served as Senior Vice President and Head of Target Discovery at GSK, where he led large-scale efforts integrating human genetics, functional genomics, computational biology, and molecular science to discover and validate new drug targets across therapeutic areas.
Prior to his transition into industry, Dr. Ingelsson was Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, where his laboratory used human genetics and functional genomics to uncover new biological mechanisms underlying insulin resistance, obesity, metabolic disease, and cardiovascular risk.
Helical nanoparticles trigger cancer alarms and deliver gene therapy
Cancer cells survive by hiding from the immune system’s surveillance. A KAIST research team has developed a new anticancer platform that makes cancer cells send out their own danger signals—prompting immune cells to attack—while simultaneously delivering gene therapy. The approach is expected to offer a new treatment strategy that combines cancer immunotherapy and gene therapy in a single nanoparticle.
Immunogenic cell death (ICD) is a process in which dying cancer cells send danger signals to nearby immune cells, prompting them to attack. A polypeptide is a polymer made of a long chain of amino acids.
A team led by Professor Yeu-Chun Kim from the KAIST Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering developed a “helical polypeptide nanoparticle” platform that induces severe stress inside cancer cells to trigger immunogenic cell death while also delivering a range of gene therapeutics into the cells. The findings are published in the journal Biomaterials.
Human tissue model tracks glioblastoma invasion cell by cell
Glioblastoma is a malignant brain tumor and is among the most aggressive cancers in humans. Despite multimodal therapy with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, there is still no cure. A major reason is the tumor’s invasive behavior: Glioblastoma cells migrate far beyond the visible tumor into healthy brain tissue. These infiltrating cells cannot be completely removed and seed tumor recurrence—often within just a few months.
“To understand why glioblastoma keeps coming back, we need to look closely at the tumor cells that remain hidden in the brain after surgery,” says Dr. Matthias Schneider, deputy director of the Department of Neurosurgery at the UKB and head of the Brain Tumor Translational Research Group at the UKB and the University of Bonn. “Core2Edge allows us to study these infiltrative tumor cells in a model based entirely on human tissue, closely mirroring what we see in patients.”
The study is published in the journal Nature Protocols.
UC Berkeley Conference on Aging and Longevity: Gregory Fahy, Wei-Wu He, and Andreas Stahl
On Sunday, July 19, 2026, at 1 p.m. U.S. Pacific Time, watch the third compilation stream, consisting of three additional presentations from the May 3, 2026, sessions at the University of California, Berkeley Conference on Aging and Longevity (BerkeleyCAL), hosted by Professor Steven A. Garan, Director of Bioinformatics at the Center for Research and Education on Aging.
These presentations delve into cutting-edge science, including actual human trials on rejuvenation, efforts to improve human longevity through genetic screening, and models of senescence at the cellular level. They are delivered by renowned longevity researchers Gregory Fahy, Wei-Wu He, and Andreas Stahl. The presentations include question-and-answer sessions, including questions posed by U.S. Transhumanist Party Chairman Gennady Stolyarov II to Andreas Stahl.
Dr. Greg Fahy of Intervene Immune presents evidence that thymic involution—the age-related decline of the thymus gland—is a primary driver of immune failure and various age-related diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular issues. To address this, he details the multiple TRIIM clinical trials in small cohorts of human patients, which successfully demonstrate that a combination of growth hormone, DHEA, and metformin can safely regenerate functional thymic tissue and rejuvenate the immune system.
Dr. Wei-Wu He of Human Longevity, Inc., emphasizes the critical importance of whole-genome sequencing for personalized longevity and healthcare, noting that genetics account for approximately 50–55% of an individual’s healthspan and lifespan. Reflecting on the legacy of Human Longevity, Inc. founder Dr. J. Craig Venter (1946−2026), Dr. He’s presentation advocates for utilizing genomic data alongside AI and advanced clinical diagnostics to shift from reactive sick care to proactive, data-driven prevention. Dr. He highlights new, accessible initiatives to bring comprehensive genomic analysis and proteomic testing to the public to help individuals identify and manage their unique health risks.
Dr. Andreas Stahl of UC Berkeley presents a microphysiological \.
Scientists recover sub-Saharan Africa’s oldest ancient animal DNA
Ancient DNA can be a powerful tool for helping us reconstruct the long-dead past. Most surviving genetic material comes from the bones and teeth of animals that lived in cold environments, where freezing temperatures help prevent decay. While hotter climates are seen as hostile to preservation, researchers have recently extracted DNA from a tooth found in South Africa that may date to around 50,000 years ago—the oldest yet retrieved from sub-Saharan Africa.
Despite many fossil-rich sites across the continent, such as South Africa’s coastal caves, few ancient DNA projects have been carried out because of the expectation of poor preservation. But that didn’t stop an international team of researchers who wanted to see whether it was possible to extract viable DNA from ancient skeletons across different time periods and sites in South Africa.
The results of their work are published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews.
The threefold value of surgery in previously irradiated brain metastases
Differentiating radiation necrosis (RN) from tumor recurrence (TR) in previously irradiated brain metastases (BM) remains a challenge. Imaging techniques lack sufficient diagnostic reliability, while therapeutic implications differ between both entities. This study aims to evaluate the diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic value of surgery in patients with progressive irradiated BM.
We studied patients who underwent surgical resection for progressive BM after prior irradiation. Histopathological diagnosis was classified as pure RN or TR. Clinical, radiological, surgical, and survival outcomes were analyzed.
In 73 lesions, histopathology demonstrated TR in 68.5% of lesions. Among TR, 84.0% showed mixed pathological features combining viable tumor cells and radionecrotic patterns. Patients initially treated by irradiation alone were significantly more likely to present TR, whereas surgery followed by postoperative irradiation was significantly associated with RN. Median interval between radiation and surgery was significantly longer in the RN group and breast cancer seemed related to RN. Postoperative clinical improvement occurred in 80.4% of symptomatic patients and corticosteroid discontinuation within one month occurred in 72.3% of patients, without significant difference between RN and TR. Median overall survival was longer in patients with RN (39 vs. 19 months, p = 0.025).
Abstract: 1 Division of Oncology Research and
1 Division of Oncology Research and.
2Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Program, Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
Address correspondence to: Martin E. Fernandez-Zapico, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St. SW, Rochester, Minnesota 55,905, USA. Phone: 1.507.255.0285; Email: [email protected].
