Lifeboat Foundation

Give people a barrier, and at some point they are bound to smash through. Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in 1947. Yuri Gagarin burst into orbit for the first manned spaceflight in 1961. The Human Genome Project finished cracking the genetic code in 2003. And we can add one more barrier to humanity’s trophy case: the exascale barrier.

The exascale barrier represents the challenge of achieving exascale-level computing, which has long been considered the benchmark for high performance. To reach that level, however, a computer needs to perform a quintillion calculations per second. You can think of a quintillion as a million trillion, a billion billion, or a million million millions. Whichever you choose, it’s an incomprehensibly large number of calculations.

Continue reading “Supercomputer uses machine learning to set new speed record” »

A genome-wide association study in 293,723 individuals identifies 74 genetic variants associated with educational attainment, which, although only explaining a small proportion of the variation in educational attainment, highlights candidate genes and pathways for further study.

Researchers using huge data sets to understand genetics and behavior worry their findings will be misinterpreted.

Deary, I.J., Cox, S.R. & Hill, W.D. Genetic variation, brain, and intelligence differences. Mol Psychiatry 27, 335–353 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-021-01027-y.

Download citation.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Casgevy, a CRISPR gene-editing therapy, for treating the serious blood disorder transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia—the second major approval for the emerging therapy.

A.I. for longevity and long lived flies.

Kennedy Schaal presents “Using Advanced A.I. and Blockchain Technology to Targey Aging” at the Longevity+DeSci Summit NYC (EARD 2023) hosted by Lifespan.io. Summary ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Kennedy Schaal is the founder and CEO of Rejuve Biotech, an AI-driven therapeutics discovery company solving the problems for longevity and age-associated diseases. By using advanced Artificial Intelligence to combine data from the Methuselah Flies with data from people, Rejuve. Bio can shorten the drug discovery pipeline and rapidly develop novel therapeutics to help people live longer. They have two high-impact and novel data sources, as well as unique artificial intelligence technology. First and foremost, they are the sole owner of data from the Methuselah Flies (fruit flies) that have been bred for longevity. Second, because flies have a shorter life cycle, they can be tested for longevity much faster than other animal models. Rejuve Biotech has the unique ability to test multiple interventions and treatment combinations over the course of a fruit fly’s life and in various aspects of its life (e.g., mating, disease resistance). In addition, they also have quick access to Crowdsourced Human Data collected by a partner company, Rejuve Network. Kennedy Schaal is an accomplished biotechnology executive with a strong leadership track record in applied genomic research and Artificial Intelligence at the frontier of longevity science. She is also a multi-published author on the science of longevity and applied genomics trials. Kennedy is also a world-leading expert on genomic selection and breeding for innovative Drosophila Methuselah Flies, which together with applied Artificial Intelligence solve many of today’s pain points in longevity research, with the potential for massive impact on the health and lifespan of people across the planet. Experienced Laboratory Director and Chief Biologist with a demonstrated history of working in the biotechnology industry. Strong research professional skilled in evolutionary biology, genetics, and the study of aging-related diseases.

Join us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/MichaelLustgartenPhDDiscount Links: Green Tea: https://www.ochaandco.com/?ref=conqueragingTelomere, Epigenetic Te…

Vallianatos et al. study the functional interactions of KMT2A and KDM5C, H3K4me enzymes known to be involved in neurodevelopmental disorders. Using genetic mouse models, neuronal structure analysis, neurobehavior, and epigenomic profiling, they demonstrate a mutually suppressive relationship between KMT2A and KDM5C during neurodevelopment.

A new CRISPR-Cas toolkit, dubbed “pAblo·pCasso,” is set to transform the landscape of bacterial genome editing, offering unprecedented precision and flexibility in genetic engineering. The new technology, developed by researchers at The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability (DTU Biosustain), expands the range of genome sites available for base-editing and dramatically accelerates the development of bacteria for a wide range of bioproduction applications.

PAblo·pCasso sets a new standard in CRISPR-Cas technologies. A key innovation is to enable precise and reversible DNA edits within Gram-negative bacteria, a feat not achievable with previous CRISPR systems. The toolkit utilizes specialized fusion enzymes, modified Cas9 coupled with editor modules CBE or ABE, which act like molecular pencils to alter specific DNA nucleotides, thus accurately controlling gene function.

The development of pAblo·pCasso involved overcoming significant challenges. Traditional CRISPR-Cas systems were limited by their need for specific DNA sequences (PAM sequences) near the target site and were less effective in making precise, single-nucleotide changes. pAblo·pCasso transcends these limitations by incorporating advanced Cas-fusion variants that do not require specific PAM sequences, thereby expanding the range of possible genomic editing sites.