Ending Age-Related Diseases 2020 has concluded! Our first online conference, with two full days of talks from professionals from both the research and investment fields, has finished. We will be providing videos from that conference in the coming months, but three have already been made available.
LEAF News
Generation Bold Radio Interviews Keith Comito: As part of our ongoing advocacy for aging research and reaching new audiences, LEAF president Keith Comito has appeared on Generation Bold Radio, which is hosted by Adriane Berg.
EARD2020
Opening Talk of Ending Age-Related Diseases 2020: Our first video to be released from EARD2020 is the introductory talk from Lifespan.io president Keith Comito, who focused on the Longevity Dividend, discussing what aging is, what we can do about it, what Lifespan.io has been doing to promote rejuvenation biotechnology, and how aging will affect our society.
Developing a Biotechnology Startup in the Rejuvenation Field: While this video is from a workshop held by Dr. Kelsey Moody in 2019, its valuable lessons for anyone attempting to build a biotechnology company still hold true in 2020.
Ending Age-Related Diseases 2020 – Keynote Speech: We were fortunate to have a keynote speech from the esteemed Dr. Aubrey de Grey, who discussed the current state of the rejuvenation biotechnology world and how we are moving closer to a world without age-related diseases.
My Experience Attending Ending Age-Related Diseases 2020: Nina Khera, co-founder of Biotein, offers her experiences with our two-day conference and its various talks.
We would like to thank all the sponsors and media partners of the conference for their support!
Journal Club
Telomerase Gene Therapy for Pulmonary Fibrosis: By restoring telomeres, the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes, researchers hope to reverse fibrosis of the lungs.
Rejuvenation Roundup Podcast
Ryan O’Shea of Future Grind hosts this month’s podcast, showcasing the events and research discussed here.
Research Roundup
SIRT2 Inhibition Ameliorates Cognitive Decline in Mice with Alzheimer’s: The relationship of sirtuins to longevity is complicated, but inhibiting SIRT2 has been shown to help in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s.
Caloric Restriction Appears to Improve Stem Cell Function: Restricting the number of calories consumed each day may help stem cells do their jobs better.
Astrocytes Become Neural Stem Cells After Injury: Astrocytes, cells that normally assist brain function, can themselves become neurons in response to injury.
Reviewing Epigenetic Alterations as a Cause of Aging: Epigenetic alterations are a primary hallmark of aging, and this review explores the relationship between DNA methylation and age-related diseases.
Stem Cells Produce Healthy Cartilage in Osteoarthritic Joints: Restoring the cartilage lost to arthritis has always been a goal of geriatric medicine, and stem cells may be a way to accomplish this.
Linking Immunosenescence and Age-Related Diseases: As the immune system declines, age-related diseases become a greater problem. This is not a coincidence, and a new review explores the link between them.
IGF-1 Reverses Mitochondrial Decline in Smooth Muscular Cells: Insulin-like growth factor 1 has been shown to alleviate mitochondrial dysfunction in smooth muscle tissue.
Researchers Rejuvenate the Thymi of Old Mice: The thymus is the training center for white blood cells, and restoring its function has long been a goal of rejuvenation research.
Major Circadian Cycle Regulator Improves Chromatin Stability: The circadian cycle determines when we wake and sleep, and a major regulator of it has been shown to reduce genomic instability.
New Gene Therapy Destroys 90% of Herpes Simplex Virus 1: Herpes simplex 1, the latent virus that causes cold sores, has been shown to be highly susceptible to a new gene therapy.
Towards a Telomerase Gene Therapy for Pulmonary Fibrosis: This article is about the research that was discussed in this month’s Journal Club.
Gene Therapy Improves Motor Function in Aged Mice: A new gene therapy has been shown to restore strength and function to mice by restoring neuromuscular junctions, an early step to a similar therapy for humans.
CRISPR-engineered human brown-like adipocytes prevent diet-induced obesity and ameliorate metabolic syndrome in mice: Brown fat is rapidly turned into heat, and giving this sort of fat to mice has been shown to prevent their accumulation of adipose (fatty) tissue, even with an obesity-inducing diet.
Senolytic activity of small molecular polyphenols from olive restores chondrocyte redifferentiation and promotes a pro-regenerative environment in osteoarthritis: By restoring chondrocytes, a senolytic compound derived from olives may offer hope to people suffering from osteoarthritis.
Senolytics prevent mt-DNA-induced inflammation and promote the survival of aged organs following transplantation: Organ donations may become less risky when senolytics are added; this could be great news for hospitals and patients alike.
A 25-y longitudinal dolphin cohort supports that long-lived individuals in same environment exhibit variation in aging rates: People age at different rates, but that phenomenon is not unique to humans; dolphins have been shown to have similar experiences.
Heart repair factor boosted by RNA-targeting compound: Vascular endothelial growth factor A signals stem cells to regrow tissues, making it a potential target for therapies.
Astragaloside IV extends lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans by improving age-related functional declines and triggering anti-oxidant responses: While this is a study of a life form far from humans, the results offer promise for the development of future therapies.
RNAAgeCalc: A multi-tissue transcriptional age calculator: Identifying 1,616 age-related genes, this in-depth calculator approaches biological age in a different way than epigenetic clocks.
News Nuggets
New Startup SENISCA Aims to Reset Senescent Cells: Rather than destroying them through senolytics, SENISCA intends to reset senescent cells to allow them to regain their function.
Disappointing News for UNITY Biotech: Unfortunately, Unity Biotechnology’s phase 2 trial of its senolytic drug UBX0101 has completely failed in treating osteoarthritis.
UT Health San Antonio gains $2M to study rapamycin for Alzheimer’s: Rapamycin is commonly studied in the field of longevity, and this university intends to study its effects on this common neurodegenerative disease.