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Category: life extension – Page 142

New mRNA ‘cancer vaccine’ trial launches in UK

— Anti-aging vaccine shows promise in mice — will it work in humans?

“This research is still in the early stages and may be a number of years from being available to patients,” Dr. David Pinato, a clinician scientist at Imperial College London’s Department of Surgery & Cancer and a consultant medical oncologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said in the statement. “But this trial is laying crucial groundwork that is moving us closer towards new therapies that are potentially less toxic and more precise.”

The first person treated in the U.K. arm of the trial wishes to remain anonymous, but said “I was pleased to be offered a chance to take part in a new trial.”

21 Best Longevity Experts and Influencers on Twitter/X

We’ve updated our list of the best longevity experts on Twitter/X and added 8 new accounts, including Dr. Morgan Levine, Dr. Brad Stanfield, and the research journal Nature Aging!

Best known for his popular longevity YouTube channel, Stanfield is a medical doctor with an interest in longevity science. Like some other folks on this list of longevity influencers, Stanfield can be a bit iconoclastic, challenging orthodoxy on things like resveratrol and fisetin.

Just like in his well-sourced videos, Stanfield’s Twitter feed is heavy with links to research papers and studies on longevity-related topics, from recent mouse studies out of the Interventions Testing Program, to threads on diet based on new trials. The downside is in his Twitter feed you don’t get to hear that sweet Kiwi accent you get from his videos.

Followers: 24,000

Founder and CEO of AI drug discovery Insilico Medicine (which has raised over $400 million under his leadership), Alex Zhavoronkov seems to be everywhere in longevity circles. From serving on the board of Peter Diamandis’s X-Prize Foundation (which recently announced its longevity X-Prize), to founding biological age testing company Deep Longevity, to somehow having the time to publish over 170 peer-reviewed studies.

AI can stop government from growing, and that’s a good thing

I’m excited to share my latest Opinion article on AI at The Hill, a top political site/paper read by the White House and Congress:

Regardless what politicians promise, this age of AI and robots will also affect the size and growth rates of the U.S. government. Federal and state government may not immediately take up with automation and AI to the extent the private sector does, but eventually the stark rationality of lower overhead expenses—and thus lower taxes for citizens—will prevail.

This is a good thing. A smaller, nimble, more efficient government will benefit the majority of people.

Zoltan Istvan writes and speaks on transhumanism, artificial intelligence, and the future. He is the author of “The Transhumanist Wager,” and is the subject of the forthcoming biography by Dr. Ben Murnane and Changemakers Books titled, “Transhuman Citizen: Zoltan Istvan’s Hunt for Immortality.”

Team discovers mechanism that protects tissue after faulty gene expression

A study at the University of Cologne’s CECAD Cluster of Excellence in Aging Research has identified a protein complex that is activated by defects in the spliceosome, the molecular scissors that process genetic information. Future research could lead to new therapeutic approaches to treat diseases caused by faulty splicing.

The genetic material, in the form of DNA, contains the information that is crucial for the correct functioning of every human and animal cell. From this information repository, RNA, an intermediate between DNA and protein, the functional unit of the cell, is generated. During this process, the must be tailored for specific cell functions. Information that is not needed (introns) is cut out of the RNA and the important components for proteins (exons) are preserved.

A team of researchers led by Professor Dr. Mirka Uhlirova at the University of Cologne’s CECAD Cluster of Excellence in Aging Research has now discovered that if the processing of this information no longer works properly, a (C/EBP heterodimer) is activated and directs the cell towards a dormant state, known as . The results appear under the title “Xrp1 governs the stress response program to spliceosome dysfunction” in Nucleic Acids Research.

A One-and-Done Injection to Slow Aging? New Study in Mice Opens the Possibility

A preventative anti-aging therapy seems like wishful thinking.

Yet a new study led by Dr. Corina Amor Vegas at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory describes a treatment that brings the dream to life—at least for mice. Given a single injection in young adulthood, they aged more slowly compared to their peers.

By the equivalent of roughly 65 years of age in humans, the mice were slimmer, could better regulate blood sugar and insulin levels, and had lower inflammation and a more youthful metabolic profile. They even kept up their love for running, whereas untreated seniors turned into couch potatoes.

Researchers asked older adults about the strategies they use for combatting loneliness. Here’s what they said

Ageing, as you might expect, had a big impact on participants’ feelings of loneliness. The deaths of partners and loved ones was particularly difficult, while participants also commented on how loss of mobility restricted their social activities. Social skills were also identified as a risk factor: one participant noted that those without strong social skills may be more likely to suffer.

Emotionally, loneliness was (unsurprisingly) connected to feelings of emptiness, sadness and lack of meaning. One participant described herself as feeling “lost… and not having control, and sometimes it can lead you to not be able to make decisions and then it just gets worse”, whilst another described loneliness as “the feeling of nothing”

But many participants also commented on strategies they used to protect against loneliness. Though ageing was a risk factor, acceptance of ageing had more positive outcomes. As one participant put it: “I used to mountain climb… If I can’t walk anymore, I’ll crawl. You have to learn how to be realistic and not brood about it. I know I’m getting older, but I consider life a transition.” Compassion was also useful: being proactive about helping others, for example, helped some participants prevent being lonely.

Would We Want to Live Forever?

More deathism from Mr Tyson. Really I’m a big fan but I dislike this sort of thinking. I commented on the vid.

What if we could live forever? Neil deGrasse Tyson takes us through life and death: if we could live forever what would life really mean? We explore why fresh flowers have meaning and why dogs make every day count. Learn about the Cretaceous-Tertiary Event, The Permian-Triassic Extinction, The Holocene Epoc, and how Earth is one killing machine.

Get the NEW StarTalk book, ‘To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery’ on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PL0NFn.

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Removing Tumors That Have Senescent Cells

Scientists have discovered a mechanism that lets senescent tumor cells undermine chemotherapy. With this mechanism blocked, standard chemotherapy led to complete regression of mammary tumors in mice [1].

Senescent yet still dangerous

Chemotherapy and radiation therapy, still the two most common treatments for solid tumors, subject cells to powerful stress as they are designed to do. This stress drives cellular senescence. Since senescent cells stop proliferating, inducing senescence in cancer cells is considered a desirable outcome. However, this is not the end of the story.

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