Lifeboat Foundation

As tech titans invest in the quest to extend our lives, Anjana Ahuja asks if longer lifespans are at last possible — and at what cost.

News, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication.

So would the private station be a viable replacement for the ISS? The ageing station, which is a partnership between the US, Russia and other nations, is only funded until 2,024 with a 2028 extension looking probable, but it cannot last forever.

Blue Origin says its space station will be fully operational in the late 2020s, but deadline slippage is common when it comes to huge space-related projects like this one. “They can dream of being fully operational in the late 2020s, but in the space sector they often aim for aspirational targets and if they miss it by a year or two or three then they at least have something they’re aiming for until then,” says space analyst Laura Forczyk. “It’s almost inevitable that things take longer and are more expensive than planned.”

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Researchers at MIT and Harvard University have designed a way to selectively turn on gene therapies in target cells, including human cells. Their technology can detect specific messenger RNA sequences in cells, and that detection then triggers production of a specific protein from a transgene, or artificial gene.

Because transgenes can have negative and even dangerous effects when expressed in the wrong cells, the researchers wanted to find a way to reduce off-target effects from gene therapies. One way of distinguishing different types of cells is by reading the RNA sequences inside them, which differ from tissue to tissue.

By finding a way to produce transgene only after “reading” specific RNA sequences inside cells, the researchers developed a technology that could fine-tune gene therapies in applications ranging from regenerative medicine to cancer treatment. For example, researchers could potentially create new therapies to destroy tumors by designing their system to identify cancer cells and produce a toxic protein just inside those cells, killing them in the process.

Scientists say it could represent a bridge between freshwater and marine species.

A team of researchers publishing in Aging have shown that resveratrol reduces inflammation and partially restores function in a rat model of spinal injury.

In line with previous research

This is far from the first study that aimed to use approaches associated with aging research in order to spur regeneration. For example, we have previously reported that removing senescent cells aids in spinal cord regeneration in a rodent model, at least partially because of the associated reduction in inflammation.

Recent advancements in biotechnology have immense potential to help address many global problems; climate change, an aging society, food security, energy security, and infectious diseases.

Biotechnology is not to be confused with the closely related field of biosciences. While biosciences refer to all the sciences that study and understand life, biology, and biological organisms, biotechnology refers to the application of the knowledge of biosciences and other technologies to develop tech and commercial products. Biotechnology is the application of innovation to biosciences in a bid to solve real-world medical problems.

Throw Artificial Intelligence into the mix and we suddenly have a really interesting pot of broth. Several AI trends have already proven beneficial to the development of biotechnology. Dr. Nathan S. Bryan, an inventor, biochemist and professor, who made a name for himself as an innovator and pioneer in nitric oxide drug discovery, commercialization, and molecular medicine, offers his insights on these contributions.

This type of cell could lead to an unlimited cell division in human cells aka a forever lifespan 😃 #immortality

“The sequencing and posting of the HeLa genome brought into sharp relief important ethical and policy issues,” said Dr. Collins. “To understand the family’s perspectives, we met with them face to face three times over four months, and listened carefully to their concerns. Ultimately, we arrived at a path forward that respects their wishes and allows science to progress. We are indebted to the Lacks family for their generosity and thoughtfulness.”

The HeLa Genome Data Use Agreement

Continue reading “NIH, Lacks family reach understanding to share genomic data of HeLa cells” »

Circa 2018

The secrets to immortality may lie in an unexpected place — fruit fly stem cells. Researchers led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator Yukiko Yamashita have found that some stem cells have a genetic trick to remain young forever across generations. While some areas of the fruit fly genome get shorter as they age, some reproductive cells are able to fix that shortening. Once observed only in yeast, this work, reported in eLife, has revealed more about aging, and how some cells can avoid it.

Continue reading “Clues to Immortality From the Fruit Fly Genome” »

“The Rejuvenome Project was launched to target these bottlenecks,” said Nicholas Schaum, PhD, Scientific Director at the Astera Institute. “We hope to do that by characterising treatments and regimens, both established and newly invented, for which we have reason to believe improve health and longevity.”

Previously, Schaum worked as a researcher at Stanford University, California, in conjunction with the Chan Zuckerberg BioHub. He organised dozens of labs and hundreds of researchers into a consortium that produced cell atlases, to characterise aging tissues in mice. These cell atlases became the foundation for Schaum’s further studies into whole-organ aging and single-cell parabiosis.

The Rejuvenome Project is expected to be complete in 2028. All wet lab operations will be centred at Buck, while the dry lab computational aspects will reside at the Astera Institute.