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Category: life extension – Page 254

The University of Surrey has built an artificial intelligence (AI) model that identifies chemical compounds that promote healthy aging — paving the way towards pharmaceutical innovations that extend a person’s lifespan.

In a paper published by Nature Communication’s Scientific Reports, a team of chemists from Surrey built a machine learning model based on the information from the DrugAge database to predict whether a compound can extend the life of Caenorhabditis elegans — a translucent worm that shares a similar metabolism to humans. The worm’s shorter lifespan gave the researchers the opportunity to see the impact of the chemical compounds.

The AI singled out three compounds that have an 80 percent chance of increasing the lifespan of elegans:

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Bioprinting in seconds.

Biofabrication technologies, including stereolithography and extrusion-based printing, are revolutionizing the creation of complex engineered tissues. The current paradigm in bioprinting relies on the additive layer-by-layer deposition and assembly of repetitive building blocks, typically cell-laden hydrogel fibers or voxels, single cells, or cellular aggregates. The scalability of these additive manufacturing technologies is limited by their printing velocity, as lengthy biofabrication processes impair cell functionality. Overcoming such limitations, the volumetric bioprinting of clinically relevant sized, anatomically shaped constructs, in a time frame ranging from seconds to tens of seconds is described. An optical-tomography-inspired printing approach, based on visible light projection, is developed to generate cell-laden tissue constructs with high viability (85%) from gelatin-based photoresponsive hydrogels. Free-form architectures, difficult to reproduce with conventional printing, are obtained, including anatomically correct trabecular bone models with embedded angiogenic sprouts and meniscal grafts. The latter undergoes maturation in vitro as the bioprinted chondroprogenitor cells synthesize neo-fibrocartilage matrix. Moreover, free-floating structures are generated, as demonstrated by printing functional hydrogel-based ball-and-cage fluidic valves. Volumetric bioprinting permits the creation of geometrically complex, centimeter-scale constructs at an unprecedented printing velocity, opening new avenues for upscaling the production of hydrogel-based constructs and for their application in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and soft robotics.

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Mitochondrial Quality Control (Mitophagy), CNS Disorders, and Aging — Dr. Spring Behrouz, Ph.D., CEO, Vincere Biosciences Inc. / CEO, Neuroinitiative LLC.

Dr. Bahareh (Spring) Behrouz, PhD, is the CEO of Vincere Biosciences Inc (https://vincerebio.com/), a biotech company focused on developing novel, small molecule therapeutics targeting mitochondrial pathways and the improvement of mitochondrial quality.

Dr. Behrouz is also the CEO of NeuroInitiative, LLC (https://www.neuroinitiative.com/), a computational biology company she co-founded in 2014, which develops simulations of disease using their patented software platform. A core focus of her research at NeuroInitiative is on the elucidation of complex, converging pathways that contribute to the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD), a neuro-degenerative brain disorder which dramatically effects movement, which nearly one million people in the U.S. are living with, and 10 million patients worldwide.

Continue reading “Dr Spring Behrouz, PhD — Mitophagy, CNS Disorders, And Aging — CEO, Vincere Bio / NeuroInitiative” | >

An aging/longevity/junk dna link.

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The human body is essentially made up of trillions of living cells. It ages as its cells age, which happens when those cells eventually stop replicating and dividing. Scientists have long known that genes influence how cells age and how long humans live, but how that works exactly remains unclear. Findings from a new study led by researchers at Washington State University have solved a small piece of that puzzle, bringing scientists one step closer to solving the mystery of aging.

A research team headed by Jiyue Zhu, a professor in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, recently identified a DNA region known as VNTR2-1 that appears to drive the activity of the telomerase gene, which has been shown to prevent aging in certain types of . The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Continue reading “The potential role of ‘junk DNA’ sequence in aging, cancer” | >

Scientists at Cambridge and Leeds have successfully reversed age-related memory loss in mice and say their discovery could lead to the development of treatments to prevent memory loss in people as they age.

In a study published today in Molecular Psychiatry, the team show that changes in the extracellular matrix of the brain — ‘scaffolding’ around nerve cells—lead to loss of with aging, but that it is possible to reverse these using genetic treatments.

Recent evidence has emerged of the role of perineuronal nets (PNNs) in neuroplasticity—the ability of the brain to learn and adapt—and to make memories. PNNs are cartilage-like structures that mostly surround inhibitory neurons in the brain. Their main function is to control the level of plasticity in the brain. They appear at around five years old in humans, and turn off the period of enhanced plasticity during which the connections in the brain are optimized. Then, plasticity is partially turned off, making the brain more efficient but less plastic.

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“What is exciting about this is that although our study was only in mice, the same mechanism should operate in humans – the molecules and structures in the human brain are the same as those in rodents,” says Fawcett. “This suggests that it may be possible to prevent humans from developing memory loss in old age.”

An intriguing new study from researchers in the United Kingdom is proposing an innovative method to treat age-related memory loss. The preclinical research shows memory decline in aging mice can be reversed by manipulating the composition of structures in the brain known as perineuronal nets.

Perineuronal nets (PNNs) are structures in the brain that envelop certain subsets of neurons, helping stabilize synaptic activity. They essentially put the brakes on the neuroplasticity seen in the first few years of life.

Although PNNs are vital to the effective functioning of a mature adult brain, by their very nature they also limit future neural plasticity and adaptability. A new wave of research is beginning to investigate ways to modulate PNNs in adult brains in the hope of treating a variety of diseases from diabetes to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Continue reading “Preclinical study finds success in reversing age-related memory loss” | >

The SENS Research Foundation has apparently already raised four times its annual income thanks to the PulseChain Airdrop.

The PulseChain airdrop supporting aging research

Richard Heart, the founder of HEX, is about to launch a new cryptocurrency called PulseChain. As part of that launch, he has also arranged an airdrop to give away some of the new cryptocurrency in order to support the SENS Research Foundation (SRF).

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We probably at this point should make all animals immortal: 3.

The advance promises to unlock new insights into human biology and disease, aiding in the study of everything from the developing immune system to tissue regeneration to skin cancer.

“Studying biodiversity is not just about exploring the biology of a bunch of interesting organisms, but ultimately for a better understanding of human biology,” developmental biologist and lead study author Hiroshi Kiyonari said via email.

Five years ago, his team began to systematically work out the problem that had so long plagued the opossum field. The first barrier was to collect zygotes (fertilized eggs) at the right time. Ideally, that would be before they began dividing, when they are still a single cell. If you inject CRISPR at this stage, you can be sure all the resulting animals’ cells will carry whatever DNA changes you make. Doing it later can mean some cells but not others will be edited — a less ideal outcome known as mosaicism. Another benefit of collecting fertilized eggs as early as possible is that the shell coat hasn’t had time to thicken.

Continue reading “Scientists produce first genetically engineered marsupials” | >