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Summary: Researchers have created a new blueprint that outlines how embryonic stem cells from mice become sensory interneurons and identified a method for producing sensory interneurons in a lab setting. If the results can be replicated in human stem cells, researchers say the findings could contribute to the development of therapies to restore sensation to those suffering nerve damage and spinal cord injury.

Source: UCLA

Researchers at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA have developed a first-of-its-kind roadmap detailing how stem cells become sensory interneurons — the cells that enable sensations like touch, pain and itch.

Can the sum of knowledge and experience we’ve accumulated over a lifetime live on after we die? The concept of “mind-uploading” is a modern version of an age-old human dream. Transhumanism hopes to not only enhance human capacities but even transcend human limitations such as bodily death.

The main character of Oscar Wilde’s famous novel The Picture of Dorian Gray wishes for eternal youth. And his wish is fulfilled: Dorian Gray remains young and exquisitely beautiful, whereas his portrait grows old, bearing the burden of aging, human shortcomings and imperfections. As we know, the story ended badly for Dorian.

In our time, scientific discoveries and new technologies promise to bring us closer to his dream. And no deal with the Devil is needed for doing so: once we understand how to manipulate the building blocks of life as well as the material foundations of our consciousness, emotions and character traits, so the story goes, we will be able to broaden human nature and overcome its inherent limitations such as aging, suffering and cognitive, emotional and moral shortcomings.

“Harms in early life can take many forms, and can lead to health consequences many years down the road. What our study shows is that these consequences manifest as perturbations to multiple biological systems, which can be measured from biomarkers in blood.”…


Individuals exposed to adverse childhood experiences tend to be biologically older than their counterparts, according to new research published in the scientific journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.

Adverse childhood experiences refer to a set of potentially traumatic events that occur before adulthood. These experiences include various forms of abuse and neglect, witnessing intimate partner violence, parental death or serious illness, parental divorce or separation, and psychiatric illness of a family member. Biological aging, on the other hand, refers to the accumulation of damage and loss of function to cells, tissues and organs.

Previous research has found that people exposed to adverse childhood experiences are more likely to suffer from chronic diseases and have a shorter lifespan. The authors of the new study were interested in whether accelerated biological aging could help explain the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and poor health outcomes later in life.

I share this revealing interview given by Liz Parrish, “Patient Zero” in biological rejuvenation, to a journalist in Madrid, Spain. It took place in July 10, 2022 and lasts 20 minutes.

During the interview Liz speaks in English. However, the journalist, whose name is María Zabay, speaks mostly in Spanish.

Don’t miss it because Liz says things that most people don’t know about her and her company BioViva Sciences.


Researchers at Cornell University have come up with a novel biomaterial that can be used to create artificial skin capable of mimicking the behavior of natural human tissues.

Thanks to its unique composition, made up of collagen mixed with a ‘zwitterionic’ hydrogel, the team’s biohybrid composite is said to be soft and biocompatible, but flexible enough to withstand continued distortion. While the scientists’ R&D project remains ongoing, they say their bio-ink could one day be used as a basis for 3D printing scaffolds from patients’ cells, which effectively heal wounds in-situ.

“Ultimately, we want to create something for regenerative medicine purposes, such as a piece of scaffold that can withstand some initial loads until the tissue fully regenerates,” said Nikolaos Bouklas, one of the study’s co-lead authors. “With this material, you could 3D print a porous scaffold with cells that could eventually create the actual tissue around the scaffold.”

A new King’s-led study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has found that a single factor (a protein coding gene known as Sox8) can make non-ear cells adopt ear character during embryo development. The findings not only demonstrate how cell fate decisions are regulated in the embryo but may also inform reprogramming and regenerative strategies for the ear developmental malformations.

Responsible for the sense of hearing and balance, the inner ear is critically important for communication with the environment. In humans, developmental malformations of the ear have life-long consequences, while age-related hearing defects affect a large proportion of the population. Currently, there are no therapies that involve biological approaches—only hearing aids or , as how the ear normally develops is not fully understood and many of the controlling factors are poorly characterized.

Researchers from the Faculty of Dentistry, Oral and Craniofacial Sciences at King’s, in collaboration with colleagues from the Francis Crick Institute, explored the earliest steps in ear development to determine what causes cells to become ear cells, and what makes them different from cells which form other sense organs.