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Category: life extension – Page 601

Scientists Reverse DNA Damage in Mice. Human Trials are Next

Sinclair lab enters human trials for DNA repair this year!

DNA is a critical part of the cell, it is the instruction manual for building cells. Whilst DNA is well protected within the cell nucleus damage does occur, therefore DNA repair is absolutely essential for cell function, cell survival and the prevention of cancer. The good news is cells are able to repair damaged DNA but the bad news is that this ability declines with aging for reasons as yet to be fully understood.

An exciting new study by researchers led by Dr. David Sinclair at Harvard Medical School shows a part of the process that enables cells to repair damaged DNA involving the signalling molecule NAD. This offers insight into how the body repairs DNA and why that repair system declines as we age. Before we get into the new research study let’s take a look at how DNA damage relates to aging and what NAD is.

Reaching a Consensus on Aging Biomarkers

Whilst looking through recent papers about biomarkers and this recent open access paper crossed my desk. The paper is the latest in a line of top to bottom reviews of aging biomarkers for humans. With companies like Unity Biotechnology and the David Sinclair lab entering human clinical trials later this year for senescent cell removal and DNA repair respectively, the development of effective biomarkers to measure how someone is aging and how therapies effect that are a matter of urgency.

Given that there are various causes of aging and that rejuvenation therapies will generally only target one or two of these processes, the first therapies will likely only be partially effective. The aging processes are all interlinked as well so affecting one may effect others, hence there is a need for a comprehensive panel of biomarkers in order for researchers to prove the efficacy of therapies.

Another thing to consider with a therapy such as senescent cell removal is, whilst you can measure how effective it is at removing senescent cells (to a reasonable degree using β-galactosidase etc…) being able to demonstrate the wider benefits of doing so is trickier. So the challenge here is to find a suitable range of biomarkers that can provide a good level of proof that rejuvenation has occurred when using these therapies. This means various measures of functional age and health are required, and these measures should be something the research community as a whole agree upon as being suitable.

If you don’t die, you can’t reach God

If you are religious, or have religious friends worried about the implications of rejuvenation for their beliefs, this article may help.

Preamble: I am an atheist. So I don’t have any God-related issues concerning rejuvenation/living forever. Other people, though, may believe there’s an afterlife waiting for them once they die, or that curing ageing equals playing God. I don’t think these are particularly problematic concerns.

First, if anyone at all, believer or not, wishes to die at any point, I am in no position to object. It’s their life, not mine, and they can do with it whatever they see fit. If you are afraid of never reaching your god because of quasi-immortality, I think you should be free to die the way you wish, be it by ageing or whatever way you prefer (as long as you don’t take others down with you). I think it’d be crazy to terminate your life for this reason, but hey, whatever sinks floats your boat. It’s your choice, and you should be given it. Rejuvenation isn’t about forcing people to never die. It’s about giving them the possibility of living in perfect health for as long as they see fit.

David Wood – We Should Prepare for the Future Now

LEAF caught up with Futurist David Wood at the recent International Longevity and Cryopreservation Summit in Madrid to talk about rejuvenation biotechnology.

We recently attended the International Longevity and Cryopreservation Summit in Madrid. LEAF director Elena Milova caught up with futurist David Wood at the summit to ask him about his work and his views on the development of rejuvenation biotechnology.

David is the Chair of the London Futurists a group who organize regular public meetings to discuss the future and how technology and science will change the world we live in. It is their aim to engage and educate the public about science and foster better understanding for what is credible in science and what is not.

He is the author of the recent book “The Abolition of Aging: The forthcoming radical extension of healthy human longevity” a book covering rejuvenation biotechnology published in 2016. The book discusses the various bottlenecks, concerns and technologies relevant to the field of rejuvenation biotechnology in the hope that readers can learn and be more informed about these technologies that could radically change society in the near future. If you are new to the subject we recommend reading this book for an excellent high level view of the field, the progress and the social issues that surround its development.

Zoltan Istvan’s Schedule for FreedomFest 2017

I’ll be on a panel and also doing an author’s roundtable (The Transhumanist Wager) at FreedomFest in Las Vegas on July 21. It’s one of the largest gatherings of free minds in the world and this year is the 10th anniversary. If you’re there, please say hello! Others are speaking on life extension and AI. Here’s my speaker’s page:

Check out what Zoltan Istvan will be attending at FreedomFest 2017.

Rejuvenation Biotechnology is now Mainstream Science

The concept of repairing age-related damage to prevent diseases is now mainstream and openly talked about by most acadmics.

Earlier this year the second Scripps Florida Symposium was held and now this open access paper reports on the event. The title of of the event was ‘Advances in Therapeutic Approaches to Extend Healthspan’ and was held on January 22nd–25th, 2017 at The Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Florida.

It is once again very refreshing to see that the focus of the researchers here is now firmly on intervening on the various aging processes in order to prevent or treat age-related diseases. Less than a decade ago suggesting addressing the aging processes to treat disease as a preventative form of medicine would have jepordised the chances of funding, or even damaged a researcher’s career prospects. Now the majority of researchers are engaged in exploring the potential of increasing healthspan (the period of life spent free of age-related disease) with the aim of delaying or preventing age-related diseases.

The taboo of talking about doing something about aging

Whilst there is still resistance in academia to talk in public about the potential of these therapies leading to not only healthier but also longer lives, it is nonetheless a step in the right direction. The discussion has changed dramatically in the last decade and the taboo of targeting the aging process has largely been banished, this in our view is a good thing. Only the most conservative scientists cling to the idea that nothing can be done about aging despite the mountains of evidence suggesting otherwise.

“How to Promote Longevity?” Live Panel

We teamed up the MMTP last week and did a special longevity live panel on Facebook with Dr. Aubrey de Grey, Dr. Alexandra Stolzing, Dr. Oliver Medvedik and guests. Check it out.

We teamed up with the MMTP for their “How to Promote Longevity?” Live Panel. Dr. Aubrey de Grey, Dr. Alexandra Stolzing and Dr. Oliver Medvedik and guests discuss the latest research and progess in rejuvenation biotechnology.

Immortality Our Future? Technology is our Fountain of Youth with Liz Parrish

Liz Parish joins the show to discuss her company’s efforts to reverse aging. Her aging trials have been famously conducted on her personally resulting in 20 year reversals on Telomere cell lengths, muscle mass, and other factors. We discuss the real possibility that humans could live to be over 1000 years old in our lifetimes. We also discuss the ethical issues that arise from the flood of new technologies that will soon be on the market.

You can see more about Parrish and her company at BioViva-Science.com

See more episodes and articles at www.SarahWestall.com

Dr. Jose Luis Cordeiro – Supporting the development of cryonics and rejuvenation biotechnology

Interview with Dr. Jose Luis Cordeiro at the International Longevity and Cryopreservation Summit in Madrid.

During the recent International Longevity and Cryopreservation Summit in Madrid, LEAF Board member Elena Milova had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Jose Luis Cordeiro new fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS) and long-term proponent of innovation technologies in many fields. Jose shared his vision on how public perception of rejuvenation technologies is changing over time and what are the main outcomes of the groundbreaking show he and his team managed to organize.

Dr. Cordeiro got his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, USA, with a minor in Economics and Languages. He is President Emeritus of the Future World Society (Venezuela) and since its foundation about two decades ago Jose managed to become an influential futurist. He is a founding faculty at NASA created Singularity University in Silicon Valley. The goal of the research centre is to tackle global problems such as health, nutrition, poverty and education using the medium of technology. He is also on the board of directors for the Lifeboat Foundation. Jose is part of Fundacion VidaPlus, promoting rejuvenation technologies as well as cryonics, as he believes that people who are too old to make use of the emerging biotechnologies should be granted a plan B in form of cryopreservation. Apart from traveling all over the world to promote innovative ideas in his inspiring talks, Jose has written more than 10 books and co-written over 20 more in five languages, including sections of the State of the Future by the Millennium Project. His extensive associations and achievements are far too numerous to list in this short article, and we invite you to read more about Jose here and also watch his awesome TEDx talk here.