As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on throughout the world, so does aging – and the two of them are heavily connected. Fortunately, research into dealing with both continues apace. Here’s what happened in the world of rejuvenation biotechnology in April.
LEAF News
Ending Age-Related Diseases 2020 is Going Online to #FlattenTheCurve and Aging!
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Ending Age-Related Diseases: Investment Prospects and Advances in Research is going online in 2020. We will host our conference on August 20-21 as planned, and our main event will feature more than 16 hours of discussion panels and presentations for you to enjoy. Interviews and online poster sessions will be available, and we intend to have plenty of networking features available to get you in touch with the major players of the longevity industry. Access to presentation materials and videos will be available, so don’t worry about missing anything this year if you choose to attend.
Team and activities
MMTP Finally Gets Government Approval: The Major Mouse Testing Program had run into regulatory hurdles but is now on track to begin.
Aging Is the Foremost Risk Factor for COVID-19. Let’s Fight It.: Not only is aging the main risk factor for this current pandemic, it is the main risk factor for many other diseases as well.
Rejuvenation Roundup Podcast
Ryan O’Shea of Future Grind hosts this month’s podcast, showcasing the events and research discussed here.
LifeXtenShow
LifeXtenShow Gets Its Own YouTube Channel: LifeXtenShow is breaking away from the main Lifespan.io channel to have a place of its own.
Proteostasis with Cecilia: Cecilia Brunello of Helsinki University talks proteostasis, including the diseases that can occur due to its loss.
Are We Pros at Proteostasis?: Armed with questions written by Cecilia, Veera questions Nicola and Giuliano on what they’ve learned.
Interviews
Alex Zhavoronkov: A.I. Drug Discovery to Fight Aging and COVID-19: In this interview with Brent Nally, Dr. Alex Zhavoronkov of Insilico Medicine talks about COVID-19 and how it has affected the aging research community, among other topics.
Aubrey de Grey: Updates on Aging Research in the Age of COVID-19: Brent Nally and Dr. Aubrey de Grey discuss the progress of aging research amid the current pandemic, along with the state of the industry’s leaders and major backers.
Research Roundup
NMN Restores Brain Function by Improving Neurovascular Coupling: Neurovascular coupling gets blood to where it needs to be in the brain, and mitochondrial dysfunction impedes this process – but the NAD+ precursor NMN has been shown to restore it in mice.
Restoring Telomerase Activity in Telomere Biology Diseases: Telomere biology diseases prevent cells from maintaining their telomeres, leading to serious disorders. PAPD5 inhibitors have been shown to restore them in mice and cell cultures..
Refining Senolytic Drugs to Be Less Toxic and More Effective: Navitoclax has strong senolytic effects, but it has the serious side effect of disrupting blood platelets. A new technology directs this drug towards senescent cells and away from platelets.
Fibroblasts Reprogrammed Into Photoreceptors Restore Vision: Instead of inducing pluripotency and transforming fibroblasts into immature cells before further alterations, a new technique transforms them directly into photoreceptors, restoring vision in mice.
Inflammaging Links Alzheimer’s Disease and Changes to the Microbiome: Age-related inflammation is associated with changes to the microbiome, and this systemic inflammation may also lead to proteostasis diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
The Challenges of Developing Aging Biomarkers: Chronological age is not the best measure of biological age, and many of the existing clocks have their own limitations. Deep learning and other approaches may offer better methods.
Metformin Reverses Myotonic Dystrophy Symptoms in Cells: Myotonic dystrophy, which causes muscle atrophy among other disorders, is caused by a lack of ATP production by dysfunctional mitochondria. Metformin has been shown to restore this ability.
Combating Inflammaging and Macrophage Dysfunction by Inhibiting p38 MAPK: TIM-4 allows macrophages to do their jobs, and p38 MAPK, which increases with age, inhibits it. Therefore, researchers are developing ways to inhibit p38 MAPK instead.
The Young Mouse Microbiome Protects the Gut Barrier: The metabolites of the young microbiome protect the gut barrier in mice, preventing cell loss and retaining its integrity.
Intermittent Fasting Shows Multiple Health Benefits: Intermittent fasting is not the same as caloric restriction, but it has its own health benefits, as this human study shows.
Treating Asthma by Removing Senescent Cells: Senescent cells have been implicated in asthma, and the antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drug azithromycin has been shown to remove the particular cells involved.
Resveratrol and Other Polyphenols Support Genomic Stability: In models that are prone to cancer, resveratrol has been shown to maintain the stability of the genome through improved repair of double-strand breaks.
Gut Enzyme Prevents Frailty and Intestinal Barrier Integrity Loss: Intestinal alkaline phosphatase, an enzyme secreted by cells in the guts, promotes intestinal health and protects the integrity of the intestinal barrier separating the gut microbiome from the bloodstream.
Genetic Damage Directly Linked to Cellular Senescence: A direct pathway between the primary hallmark of genomic instability and the downstream hallmark of cellular senescence has been found.
Elimination of senescent cells attenuates inflammation and restores physical function in aged mice: Lysosomal ß-galactosidase is a primary characteristic of senescent cells, and these researchers have developed SSK1, a prodrug that targets cells expressing this enzyme.
Systematic age-, organ-, and diet-associated ionome remodeling and the development of ionomic aging clocks: The ionome is the composition of chemical elements in tissue, and it changes with age – and not for the better. However, this means that it can be used as a biomarker to determine biological age.
A human-origin probiotic cocktail ameliorates aging-related leaky gut and inflammation via modulating microbiota-taurine-tight junction axis: Cultures taken from the human infant microbiome were shown to reduce inflammatory problems in adults.
Dimeric Thymosin ß4 Loaded Nanofibrous Interface Enhanced Regeneration of Muscular Artery in Aging Body: Stem cells that regenerate arteries are located around the fat surrounding these vessels, and dimeric thymosin ß4 promotes their activity along with M2 healing-type macrophage differentiation.
The neuronal receptor tyrosine kinase Alk is a target for longevity: Reducing the amount of Alk has been shown to extend the lifespan of fruit flies, making it a candidate for further study.
Long-term treatment with spermidine increases health span of middle-aged Sprague-Dawley male rats: Spermidine, a compound found in multiple foods, has been shown to improve the healthspan of rats through improvements in brain function.
Spermidine and spermine delay brain aging by inducing autophagy in SAMP8 mice: This study shows similar results as the previous study, and it explains the biochemical processes that promote autophagy, the consumption of older cellular components.
Senolytics Could Cause a Sea Change in How We Treat Aging: As this review explains, once we reach the point at which age-related diseases are considered treatable, more attention will be devoted to treating age-related diseases.
News Nuggets
Bacteria-Based Nanomachine for Targeted Drug Delivery: By using modified bacteria and red blood cells, researchers have developed a novel method of drug delivery.
A Practical Guide to Natural Antivirals and Immune Boosters for COVID-19: Forever Healthy Foundation has released a long list of naturally occurring chemicals that have been shown to boost the immune system.
Coming Up
Optimizing Biological Age with Dr. Michael Lustgarten: On Saturday, May 2 at noon EDT, Journal Club will return with Dr. Michael Lustgarten to discuss biomarkers of aging and how best to improve them. If you want to participate, become a Lifespan Hero today.
COVID-19, Aging, and the Future of Healthcare: On Thursday, May 7 at noon EDT, Dr. David Sinclair, Dr. Aubrey de Grey, Dr. Felipe Sierra, Daria Khaltourina, and our own president Keith Comito will come together to engage in 40 to 50 minutes of discussion followed by a Q&A session. Like participation in our Journal Club, participation in the Q&A session is exclusive to our Lifespan Heroes.
The 1st Metchnikoff’s Day Online Conference: Focused on the relationship between COVID-19 and aging, this conference will be conducted through Zoom on May 16 at 11 PM EDT. Participation is free, but pre-registration is required.
Longevity Leaders Congress: Just like EARD2020, the LSX Longevity Leaders Conference is going virtual this year. Taking place from May 19 to May 22, this four-day event will offer both live and on-demand content along with tremendous networking opportunities among the leaders of the longevity industry.
Ending Age-Related Diseases 2020: Remember, Early Bird ticket prices will only be available until May 21! Unlike an in-person conference, there’s no need to worry about plane tickets or any other travel concern, so there’s a lot less reason to wait to buy tickets this year. If you want to join in 16 hours of presentations and discussions along with a lot more besides, get your ticket today.
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