Lifeboat Foundation

One of the most commonly asked questions we receive is “How is progress going in aging research?” It is something we are asked so often that we decided to provide the community with a resource that will help them to keep track of progress directly.

To that end, today we have launched our new curated database, The Rejuvenation Roadmap, which will be tracking the progress of the many therapies and projects in the rejuvenation biotechnology field. This database aims to give a quick visual summary of the status of each drug or therapy along with some additional information for people interested in learning more about them.

We believe that an informed community is an effective one, and this was one of our motivations for developing this new database. There are many resources for scientists, such as the superb databases of the Human Ageing Genomic Resources maintained by Dr. João Pedro de Magalhães, which are excellent for researchers. However, we noticed that there was no database that tracked the efforts of the many researchers and projects in the field, and while some people do maintain lists, they are often not public facing, easy to access, or user-friendly.

Startup, Unity Biotechnology, prevents aging—and it’s not as crazy as it seems.

Now on his fifth startup, Ned David has the blueprint for creating a lucrative biotech. His latest project: a company that will take on the ravages of aging.

A quick 4-minute overview of Epigenetic Rejuvenation – a breakthrough approach to whole-body rejuvenation that can potentially add decades to our lives.

A new approach to fight the aging process: rejuvenating the nuclear membrane.

A new discovery about the effects of aging in our cells could allow doctors to cure or prevent diabetes, fatty liver disease and other metabolic diseases — and possibly even turn back the clock on aging itself.

The new finding from the University of Virginia School of Medicine suggests that fatty liver disease and other unwanted effects of aging may be the result of our cells’ nuclei — the compartment containing our DNA — getting wrinkly. Those wrinkles appear to prevent our genes from functioning properly, the UVA researchers found.

Continue reading “Study proposes a new way to reverse the aging process” »

New video from Undoing Aging 2018: Matthew Scholz, founder and CTO of Immusoft, on their work developing a breakthrough platform for treating a variety of genetic diseases.

Accelerating rejuvenation therapies to repair the damage of aging. Berlin, March, 15 — 17.

Continue reading “Matthew Scholz, founder and CTO of Immusoft, presenting at Undoing Aging 2018” »

Study based upon human skeletal muscle aging, mutagenesis, and the role of #satellite cells.

“A more comprehensive understanding of the interplay of stem cell–intrinsic and extrinsic factors will set the stage for improving cell therapies capable of restoring tissue homeostasis and enhancing muscle repair in the aged.”

Human aging has multiple effects on the human body. One of the effects of human aging is the reduction in skeletal muscle (SkM) function and a reduction in the number and activity of satellite cells (SCs), the resident stem cells. The whole genome of single SC clones of the leg muscle vastus lateralis from healthy individuals of different ages (21–78 years) was analyzed, to study the specific connection between SC aging and muscle impairment. In healthy adult muscle rapid increase of SCs is consistent with the accumulation rate of 13 somatic mutations per genome per year. Mutations typically do not happen in SkM-expressed genes because they are protected. However, as mutations in exons and promoters increase, genes involved in SC activity and muscle function are targeted which results in aging. Exons are coding sections of an RNA transcript, or the DNA encoding it, that are translated into protein. Proteins are the synthesis of molecules. A change in of a single base pair that caused the substitution of a different amino acid in the resulting protein (missense mutation) that was propagated to the muscle and detected in association with SC mutations affecting the whole tissue. #Somatic mutagenesis in SCs as a result is the driving force in the age related decline of SkM function.

Continue reading “Human Skeletal Muscle Aging and Mutagenesis” »

Will we ever be able to bring cryogenically frozen corpses back to life? A cryobiologist explains.

Chemically induced pluripotent stem cells (CiPSCs) may provide an alternative and attractive source for stem cell-based therapy. Sufficient telomere lengths are critical for unlimited self-renewal and genomic stability of pluripotent stem cells. Dynamics and mechanisms of telomere reprogramming of CiPSCs remain elusive. We show that CiPSCs acquire telomere lengthening with increasing passages after clonal formation. Both telomerase activity and recombination-based mechanisms are involved in the telomere elongation. Telomere lengths strongly indicate the degree of reprogramming, pluripotency, and differentiation capacity of CiPSCs. Nevertheless, telomere damage and shortening occur at a late stage of lengthy induction, limiting CiPSC formation. We find that histone crotonylation induced by crotonic acid can activate two-cell genes, including Zscan4; maintain telomeres; and promote CiPSC generation. Crotonylation decreases the abundance of heterochromatic H3K9me3 and HP1α at subtelomeres and Zscan4 loci. Taken together, telomere rejuvenation links to reprogramming and pluripotency of CiPSCs. Crotonylation facilitates telomere maintenance and enhances chemically induced reprogramming to pluripotency.

Today, we will be taking a look at a new study showing that an NAD+ precursor was able to improve mitochondrial function in cells and flies with a model of Parkinson’s disease.

Summary

While mitochondrial dysfunction is emerging as key in Parkinson’s disease (PD), a central question remains whether mitochondria are actual disease drivers and whether boosting mitochondrial biogenesis and function ameliorates pathology. We address these questions using patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells and Drosophila models of GBA-related PD (GBA-PD), the most common PD genetic risk. Patient neurons display stress responses, mitochondrial demise, and changes in NAD+ metabolism. NAD+ precursors have been proposed to ameliorate agerelated metabolic decline and disease. We report that increasing NAD+ via the NAD+ precursor nicotinamide riboside (NR) significantly ameliorates mitochondrial function in patient neurons. Human neurons require nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) to maintain the NAD+ pool and utilize NRK1 to synthesize NAD+ from NAD+ precursors. Remarkably, NR prevents the age-related dopaminergic neuronal loss and motor decline in fly models of GBA-PD.

Continue reading “NAD+ Precursor Has Therapeutic Potential Against Parkinsons Disease” »