Lifeboat Foundation

Another great invention by the folks from Australia.

Researchers said they developed the new thinnest lens in the world. Made from a crystal called molybdenum disulphide, the new lens is 2,000 thinner than a human hair and can revolutionize the field of nanotechnology. (Photo : Gerd Altmann | Pixabay)

A team of Australian scientists said they have developed the thinnest lens in the world. The new 6.3-nanometer lens, which is 2,000 times thinner than a human hair, can lead to novel advances in medicine and science which could revolutionize nanotechnology.

Continue reading “World’s Thinnest Lens Could Revolutionize Nanotechnology” »

Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Shiley Eye Institute, with colleagues in China, have developed an eye lens restoration treatment that has been tested in monkeys and in a small human clinical trial. It produced much fewer surgical complications than the current standard-of-care and resulted in regenerated lenses with superior visual function in all 12 of the pediatric cataract patients who received the new surgery.

Congenital cataracts — lens clouding that occurs at birth or shortly thereafter — is a significant cause of blindness in children.

Continue reading “Scientists grow eye lens from patients’ own stem cells, restoring vision” »

Some of the things that we can do with Gene Editing.

This list just gets cooler and cooler.

SENS has kindly commented about MMTP and the impact our research should have on aging. We launch a fundraiser in April to test senolytics (ApoptoSENS) with a planned follow up to combine this with stem cell therapy (RepleniSENS). It is time to put the engineering approach to aging to the test!

Some drugs tested have been found to increase mouse lifespan such as Metformin and Rapamycin for example and are considered for human testing. Many more substances have never been tested and we do not know if they might extend healthy lifespan.

CRISPR may have burst on the scene as a revolutionary gene editing tool, but it’s proving to be so much more. Tagging the targeting system with a gene silencing component could revolutionise stem cell work and enable a new level of genetic control we’ve never seen before.

A wonder tool

Efficient and accurate, CRISPR may be in the throes of a patent battle but it’s undoubtedly going down in history as a landmark in biological science. There may be other similar systems out there, but CRISPR makes things quick and comparatively cheap — which tends to revolutionise any industry.

Innovative new project the MMTP aims to fast forward translation from lab to clinic with rapid, parallel mice testing. We caught up with Steve Hill and Elena Milova from the MMTP team to discuss the program and why being pro-actively involved with longevity advocacy is so important.

What’s the gap in the market you’re aiming to fill and the major motivation behind the MMTP?

Steve – The bridge between basic research and taking it to clinical trials. People like The SENS Foundation are spinning a lot of plates doing the high risk, nitty gritty research that isn’t profitable, but crowdfunding can get that done. We want to create a solid gold standard testing platform without the restrictions of government, where any team can come to us for parallel testing and halve development time. The problem with animal testing is there’s this disconnect; it’s not sexy science basically. A common response is let me know when it’s available in humans, but it’s not going to be! No animal data means no human testing, organizations like the FDA, NHS and EMA all insist on a battery of animal testing before human trials. Period. It’s not sexy, it’s not available in humans next week, but if MMTP or other projects don’t get things done on mice for example, it’s never going to get done. It doesn’t matter if one theory turns out to be wrong, let’s get stuck in and find out!

Continue reading “An Interview With The Major Mouse Testing Program: We Talk Longevity Advocacy And Fast Tracking Progress” »

Bionics: surgically inserted sensors controlling a prosthetic limb. Meet the man who sometimes forgets that his bionic leg is not his own.

CRISPR may be revolutionary; however, it’s not nearly as easy as it’s made out to be. But thanks to this company, individuals can alter the source code of life without ever needing to enter a lab.

A new genome editing technique is allowing us to alter DNA—the source code of life—with unprecedented precision. It is known as CRISPR, and with it, we can target and change a gene from any cell of any species without interfering with any other genes. If that’s not enough, we are able to edit these genes at just a fraction of the cost of previous methods.

Continue reading “Desktop Genetics: Now You Can Do Genetic Engineering Without Ever Entering a Lab” »

It won’t be long now before cancer is nothing but a terrible, terrible memory.

Never soon enough, though.

Continue reading “Dramatic remissions in blood cancer in immunotherapy treatment trial” »