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Technique allows researchers to toggle on individual genes that regulate cell growth, development, and function.

By combining CRISPR technology with a protein designed with artificial intelligence, it is possible to awaken individual dormant genes by disabling the chemical “off switches” that silence them. Researchers from the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle describe this finding in the journal Cell Reports.

The approach will allow researchers to understand the role individual genes play in normal cell growth and development, in aging, and in such diseases as cancer, said Shiri Levy, a postdoctoral fellow in UW Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (ISCRM) and the lead author of the paper.

Summary: Oleic acid produced in the brain is an essential regulator of processes that enable memory, learning, and mood regulation. Oleic acid, which is abundant in olive oil, also promoted neurogenesis and increases cell proliferation.

Source: Baylor College of Medicine.

Many people dread experiencing the cognitive and mood declines that often accompany reaching an advanced age, including memory disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and mood conditions like depression.

This disparity gets at the difference between one’s chronological age — how old they are in years — and their biological age, which is how their body has aged naturally and in response to its environment. The two can diverge in ways that are either blessings or curses. Hence why those who grow up under extreme stress or in polluted environments may look much older than they actually are.

And yellow-bellied marmots can tell us something about these two ages.

Yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventer) are no burrow-dwelling meteorologists like the groundhog. They may sound craven, but these quirky critters, also known as whistle pigs, make for fascinating subjects: the cat-sized rodents have a longer lifespan than expected for a mammal of their size. On average, marmots live 15 years.

A little confusing. Cure aging in 20 years but you’re not a longevity company?


Altos Labs recently exited stealth mode to announce $3 billion in funding, reportedly from investors including Jeff Bezos, and a team full of Nobel Prize winners and pioneering scientists. However, the secretive company’s representatives insist that “Altos is not an anti-aging or longevity company”. Despite this, a key member of their scientific leadership recently publicly stated that he is convinced that, using the same technologies they are working with at Altos, we will be able to prevent aging within twenty years.

The scientist making these bold statements is Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, a Spanish biologist who has spent years pioneering innovations in developmental biology, regenerative medicine and aging research at the Salk Institute.

In 2006, a study showed that it was possible to reprogram cells using just four master genes. These four reprogramming factors are often called the Yamanaka factors after one of their discoverers, Shinya Yamanaka, who also happens to be part of the Altos Labs team.

In 2016, Belmonte and his team of researchers at the Salk Institute demonstrated that the cells and organs of a living animal could be rejuvenated using cellular reprogramming.

How Jeff Bezos and Altos Labs are challenging death itself: The science of partial cellular reprogramming!


Hey it’s Han from WrySci-HX going over the science behind Altos Labs (the biotech company looking to extend healthspan and lifespan), news from the cultured meat industry, developments on a new device that can change your skin into nerve cells, and other science / technology happenings! More below ↓↓↓

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Summary: Body temperature exerts a greater effect on longevity and lifespan than metabolic rate, researchers report.

Source: Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Researchers from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, along with collaborators from Wenzhou University and the University of Aberdeen, have found that body temperature exerts a greater effect on lifespan than metabolic rate.