Half of people who live to 85 will develop Alzheimer’s disease — a disturbing statistic. But research into a family in South America has revealed a gene mutation that appears to afford protection, and may lead to a way to treat or possibly even prevent the disease.
Scientists have developed a new gene-therapy technique by transforming human cells into mass producers of tiny nano-sized particles full of genetic material that has the potential to reverse disease processes.
Though the research was intended as a proof of concept, the experimental therapy slowed tumor growth and prolonged survival in mice with gliomas, which constitute about 80 percent of malignant brain tumors in humans.
The technique takes advantage of exosomes, fluid-filled sacs that cells release as a way to communicate with other cells.
Optogenetics, a tool for controlling neurons with light, has given neuroscientists the ability to flip brain cells on and off more or less at will, revolutionizing neuroscience.
Yet the technique faces a fundamental challenge: To study all but the outermost part of the brain, researchers need to implant fiber optics or other invasive devices to deliver light deep into the brain.
Now, in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Stanford researchers report that they’ve found a less invasive way to do so: injectable nanoparticles that convert sound waves, which can easily penetrate into the brain, into light.
The answer is essentially yes … in the short term.
If you’re an apparently healthy person who wants to learn about your genetic disease risks, you can send a saliva sample and a hundred bucks or so to an array-based direct-to-consumer genetic testing company and get some trait information and selected health risks, plus details about your genetic ancestry. But as the direct-to-consumer (DTC) companies themselves will tell you, this is only a fraction of the medical value that may be hidden in your genome. Many of the experts in both ancestry and medical genomics will suggest that since consumer facing genomics are not as comprehensive as those meeting medical standards, it is quite OK for consumers to pay for these products out of their own pockets.
But when it comes to health care, people expect products and services that are medically beneficial to be available to more than just those people who can pay for them. As medical science increasingly demonstrates the life altering value of genomics, the notion that these services must be paid for out of pocket, making it inaccessible to some, does not seem appropriate or fair.
We recently launched the Brigham Preventive Genomics Clinic, the first academic clinic in the world to offer comprehensive, high quality genome sequencing and in-depth interpretation to apparently healthy adults and their children. Over the past two years of planning this clinic, we have struggled with the reality that there is no health insurance coverage for preventive genomic testing, and our patients must therefore pay out of pocket. This is a troubling feature for a clinic at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, which is known for its ties to communities in Boston with diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. One must ask: Is a service like this further widening the inequities in our health care system?
They are probs descendants from god alien cats from ancient time. They are entirely self sufficient and so cute :3 Also essentially perfect on all levels that rival even humans. Basically a whole kit of ninja abilities that truly are phenomenal even used in war times. There is a reason why culture after culture praises them and revels in their abilities and intelligence. Even legends say the ninja learned of them to be akin to them in stealth abilities. Even in popular culture the flerkin is seen guarding the tesseract. Also dragon ball z there is a god cat that oversees a universe. Even to this day the feline genetic code still shows mysteries that have enticed generations of people so why not see they have their own story to tell their own universe of mystery.
Recent polling shows Americans love their conspiracy theories. They also love cats. This was bound to happen.
Scientists like Prof Sinclair have evidence of speeding up, slowing, and even reversing aging.
Thanks to LastPass for sponsoring this video. Click here to start using LastPass: https://ve42.co/VeLP
What causes aging? According to Professor David Sinclair, it is a loss of information in our epigenome, the system of proteins like histones and chemical markers like methylation that turn on and off genes. Epigenetics allow different cell types to perform their specific functions — they are what differentiate a brain cell from a skin cell. Our DNA is constantly getting broken, by cosmic rays, UV radiation, free radicals, x-rays and regular cell division etc. When our cells repair that damage, the epigenome is not perfectly reset. And hence over time, noise accumulates in our epigenome. Our cells no longer perform their functions well.
To counter this decline, we can activate the body’s own defenses against aging by stressing the body. Eat less, eat less protein, engage in intense exercise, experience uncomfortable cold. When the body senses existential threats it triggers longevity genes, which attempt to maintain the body to ensure its survival until good times return. This may be the evolutionary legacy of early bacteria, which established these two modes of living (repair and protect vs grow and reproduce). Scientists are uncovering ways to mimic stresses on the body without the discomfort of fasting. Molecules like NMN also trigger sirtuins to monitor and repair the epigenome. This may slow aging.
Reversing aging requires an epigenetic reset, which may be possible using Yamanaka factors. These four factors can revert an adult cell into a pluripotent stem cell. Prof. Sinclair used three of the four factors to reverse aging in the retinal cells of old mice. He found they could see again after the treatment.
Special thanks to:
Professor David Sinclair, check out his book “Lifespan: Why We Age & Why We Don’t Have To“
Assistant Professor David Gold
Noemie Sierra (for polyp images)
Genepool Productions for telomere animations from Immortal: https://ve42.co/immortal
Epigenetics animations (DNA, histones, methylation etc) courtesy of: http://wehi.tv
Animation: Etsuko Uno
Art and Technical Direction: Drew Berry
Sound Design: Francois Tetaz & Emma Bortignon
Scientific Consultation: Marnie Blewitt
Courtesy of Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research.
Filming, editing and animation by Jonny Hyman and Derek Muller.
Columbia scientists have captured the first images of a new gene editing tool that could improve upon existing CRISPR-based tools. The team developed the tool, called INTEGRATE, after discovering a unique “jumping gene” in Vibrio cholerae bacteria that could insert large genetic payloads in the genome without introducing DNA breaks.
In the new study, published today in Nature, the researchers harnessed a Nobel Prize-winning technique called cryo-electron microscopy to freeze the gene editing complex in action, revealing high-resolution details about how it works.
“We showed in our first study how to leverage INTEGRATE for targeted DNA insertions in bacterial cells,” says Sam Sternberg, Ph.D., assistant professor of biochemistry & molecular biophysics at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, who led the research with Israel Fernandez, Ph.D., assistant professor of biochemistry & molecular biophysics at Columbia. “These new images, a wonderful collaboration with Israel Fernández’s lab, explain the biology with incredible molecular detail and will help us improve the system by guiding protein engineering efforts.”
Scientists have developed a new gene-therapy technique by transforming human cells into mass producers of tiny nano-sized particles full of genetic material that has the potential to reverse disease processes.
Though the research was intended as a proof of concept, the experimental therapy slowed tumor growth and prolonged survival in mice with gliomas, which constitute about 80 percent of malignant brain tumors in humans.
The technique takes advantage of exosomes, fluid-filled sacs that cells release as a way to communicate with other cells.
After decades of research, here it is: the first promising evidence in humans, albeit imperfect and early, that a cocktail of three drugs is enough to reverse the epigenetic clock—a measure of someone’s biological age and health.
The results came as a surprise to even the research team, who originally designed the trial for something a little less dazzling: to look at human growth hormone’s effects on the thymus, the cradle of the body’s immune system that deteriorates with age.
“Maintained immune function is seen in centenarians,” and thymus function is linked to all-cause mortality, explained study author Dr. Gregory Fahy at Intervene Immune, based in Los Angeles, California. “So we were hoping to use a year of growth hormone to maintain thymus function in middle-aged men, right before the tissue’s functions take a nosedive,” he said.
Taking advantage of powerful advances in CRISPR gene editing, scientists at the University of California San Diego have set their sights on one of society’s most formidable threats to human health.
A research team led by Andrés Valderrama at UC San Diego School of Medicine and Surashree Kulkarni of the Division of Biological Sciences has developed a new CRISPR-based gene-drive system that dramatically increases the efficiency of inactivating a gene rendering bacteria antibiotic-resistant. The new system leverages technology developed by UC San Diego biologists in insects and mammals that biases genetic inheritance of preferred traits called “active genetics.” The new “pro-active” genetic system, or Pro-AG, is detailed in a paper published December 16 in Nature Communications.
Widespread prescriptions of antibiotics and use in animal food production have led to a rising prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in the environment. Evidence indicates that these environmental sources of antibiotic resistance are transmitted to humans and contribute to the current health crisis associated with the dramatic rise in drug-resistant microbes. Health experts predict that threats from antibiotic resistance could drastically increase in the coming decades, leading to some 10 million drug-resistant disease deaths per year by 2050 if left unchecked.
