Lifeboat Foundation

It is the dream of every molecular geneticist: an easy-to-use program that compares datasets from different cellular conditions, identifies enhancer regions and then assigns them to their target genes. A research team led by Martin Vingron at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin has now developed a program that does all of this.

“DNA is pretty boring, since it is practically the same in every cell,” says Martin Vingron, director and head of the Department of Bioinformatics at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin. “While the genome is like the book of life, I am most interested in the side notes.”

These “notes” are small chemical marks attached to the DNA molecule that do not alter the genetic information itself, but influence what happens to the DNA at the respective site. In other words, these marks have an epigenetic effect. They serve as regulators of genomic regions that are responsible for the activation and deactivation of genes, such as promoters and enhancers.

Biochemical makeover allows Escherichia coli to use carbon dioxide as a building block for its cells.

Following strong results for its flagship CTX001 drug, should you add CRISPR to your portfolio?

As genetic sequencing becomes more widespread, a disconnect is emerging between what individual patients expect to get back and what scientists are willing and able to tell them. WSJ visited MIT’s Broad Institute to learn about the murky world of genomic research data.

Photo: angela weiss/afp via getty images

Continue reading “DNA Testing: The Disconnect Between Patients and Researchers | WSJ” »

Just seven years after scientists announced the first use of Crispr-Cas9 gene editing technology on human cells, researchers shared new evidence this week that Crispr can be used to cure two serious genetic disorders.

On Tuesday, NPR reported that a patient in Nashville had seen a dramatic decline in her symptoms of sickle cell disease after receiving a single gene therapy treatment in July. Sickle cell, which can lead to inflammation, debilitating pain, and life-threatening circulatory problems, affects millions of people around the world.

That same day, the biotech companies behind the sickle-cell treatment, Crispr Therapeutics and Vertex, also shared promising results from their first attempt to cure a case of beta thalassemia, another genetic disorder that affects blood proteins. Nine months after receiving the experimental treatment, a patient in Germany with beta thalassemia has almost no signs of the disorder.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8LNTOBjWaM&feature=share

Husbands Ian and Leon discuss the future of longevity technology and genetic research in Silicon Valley with the infamous bio-tech renegade Aubrey DeGrey.

Ian and Leon then drive a classic car down the Pacific Coast Highway and into the desert to the 7th Day Adventist community of Loma Linda to learn about “Blue Zones” and how anyone can make simple lifestyle changes that would allow them to live radically longer lives.

Continue reading “Silicon Valley: The Research for Living Longer | Longevity Road Trip | TRACKS” »

For years, researchers weren’t exactly sure what to make of these extra loops of genetic material. That’s quickly changing.

We will have a fresh new presentation on Exosomes “The End of Aging” by Harvard Genetics Genius Dr. Duncan Ross, the Founder of Kimera Labs. And Bill Faloon will present the latest in Age Reversal research.

Visit The Church of Perpetual Life this Thursday, November 21st at 7:00 PM.
Our Doors open at 6:00 PM
Before the service: Enjoy tasty snacks, networking and conversations on Age Reversal, Cryonics, The Singularity and other topics of interest to all for the quest of an Unlimited Life. Stay afterwards as we have a delicious 5 star dinner reception with speakers.

Continue reading “Dr. Duncan Ross presentation on Exosomes and Bill Faloon Age Reversal Update” »

Cancer cells may owe some of their destructive nature to unique, “doughnut-shaped” DNA, according to a new study.

The study, published today (Nov. 20) in the journal Nature, found that, in some cancer cells, DNA doesn’t pack into thread-like structures like it does in healthy cells — rather, the genetic material folds into a ring-like shape that makes the cancer more aggressive.