We Age Because the World Changes
Aging is an inevitability, or so we have to assume: the processes of evolution blindly but efficiently explore the space of possible living creatures, and have been doing so for a very, very long Continue Reading
An Update on Germ Cells and Longevity
Researchers continue to investigate the link between germ cells and longevity in lower animals. In this open access paper, changes to fat metabolism are implicated as an important mechanism: Continue Reading
Immune Therapy Versus Pancreatic Cancer
An example of the sort of immune system engineering that is presently taking place in the laboratory: "Until this research, we thought the immune system needed to attack the cancer directly in order Continue Reading
An Approach to Step One of the Vegas Group: Bootstrapping the Codex
The Vegas Group: a so far fictional community of the next ten years that will merge the longevity advocacy and open biotech communities in order to (a) reverse engineer the most promising Continue Reading
Nuclear DNA Damage, Aging, and Stem Cells
Nuclear DNA damage accumulates with age, but is it a cause of aging? This open access paper illustrates why there is a question - as for many studies, the results do not point unambiguously in one Continue Reading
Towards Stem Cell Therapy for Macular Degeneration
Small steps: "The notion of transplanting adult stem cells to treat or even cure age-related macular degeneration has taken a significant step toward becoming a reality. ... researchers have Continue Reading
An Overview of the Molecular Mechanisms by Which Exercise Impacts Aging
Exercise slows many of the degenerations of aging and - much like calorie restriction - this appears to be the result of changes in a multitude of biological processes and systems. In effect exercise Continue Reading
The Unreliability of Many Studies of Rodent Longevity
As noted in this paper, many researchers still fail to control for calorie intake in their studies - and thus their experimental results are largely worthless, given the impact of even mild calorie Continue Reading
A Popular Science Article on Autophagy and Longevity
From Science News: "the cells of organisms from yeast to humans regularly engage in self-cannibalism. Cells chew on bits of their cytoplasm - the jellylike substance that fills their bellies - and Continue Reading
From the SENS Foundation: 2010 Research Report and SENS5 News
The SENS Foundation will be hosting the SENS5 conference in Cambridge, England at the end of August. Registration is open, and this note arrived in my in-box today: I am writing to inform you that Continue Reading
RasGrf1 Deficiency in Mice Causes a 20% Increase in Maximum Life Span
A recent open access paper from a Spanish research group outlines yet another methodology to add to the growing list of ways to increase healthy life span in mice. Progress is signified by diversity Continue Reading
Living Like a Centenarian
The modest goals of the mainstream longevity science community are outlined by one of its members in this article - to enable everyone to age as slowly as only some people presently do. No radical Continue Reading
Gene Therapy Trials to Treat Parkinson’s Disease
Via EurekAlert!: "A gene therapy called NLX-P101 dramatically reduces movement impairment in Parkinson's patients, according to results of a Phase 2 study ... The approach introduces a gene into the Continue Reading
Stem Cells Improve Condition of Long-Damaged Hearts
A recent early stage trial demonstrated that first generation autologous stem cell transplants should be beneficial even if provided long after a serious damage has occurred. Large numbers of Continue Reading
More on Cellular Housekeeping Versus Neurodegenerative Diseases
Researchers recently demonstrated that increased cellular housekeeping could slow neurodegeneration, and here a different group show the same outcome: "Cells, which employ a process called autophagy Continue Reading
Incremental Improvement in Rheumatoid Arthritis Therapies
The present generation of therapies for rheumatoid arthritis are based on TNF inhibition - a fairly crude manipulation of the immune system when considered in the grand scheme of what is possible, Continue Reading
The Global Forum for Longevity
The Global Forum for Longevity is an industry-sponsored forum taking place later this month; fairly mainstream, no talk of radical life extension or other forms of futurism that might lead to Continue Reading
Micromachines Steered Through the Blood
Nanotechnology can be used to build assemblies of designed molecules that seek out specific cells - such as cancer cells - but an alternative approach to targeted therapies is to build machinery Continue Reading
Of Stem Cells, Horses, and Humans
Because veterinary medicine is less (oppressively) regulated than human medicine, animals are benefiting from stem cell therapies that are safe enough for human use but nonetheless still illegal to Continue Reading
Finding Smart Ways to Say Profoundly Stupid Things
I notice that Science Progress has thoughtfully posted an overview of a book that, like so many, passed beneath my distracted field of vision. It's a good overview, and in reading it I'm struck by Continue Reading
