It might be April Fool’s Day, but with the ongoing pandemic, age-related diseases are even less funny this year than they were last year. Let’s take a look at what people have been doing about them in March.
LEAF News
Promising to connect biotech innovators and investors, researchers and policymakers, the Longevity Leaders World Congress will occur on May 4-7. It will focus on aging science, aging well, and financing of longevity. Content access will be free; 1:1 partnering will be available for different levels of paid registration.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Longevity has a message for all our readers in the United Kingdom:
Lord Filkin, Rt Hon Damian Green MP, Richard Sloggett and Tina Woods invite you to the launch with Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP of the report, Levelling Up Health.
COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on our country, exposing our nation’s poor health and our health inequalities – 90% of those who died with Covid had significant prior poor health. A new healthcare system is essential to confront how unhealthy we are.
The report sets out why this is needed and what should be done. It proposes a 10 Year Health Improvement Plan, a new Health Improvement Fund, a shift in political attitudes that have impeded progress, clear priorities for action, and the need to challenge and change organisations that harm our children and our health.
All of society and all parties must seize the moment to improve our health; we show how.
Team and Activities
We Celebrate Our Seventh Birthday!: Lifespan.io celebrated its seventh birthday this month, and we’re very thankful to all of our donors for supporting us for all these years.
David Gobel on 3D-Printed Organs at EARD2020: At last year’s Ending Age-Related Diseases 2020 conference, David Gobel of the Methuselah Foundation discussed how animal trials are insufficient in analyzing human diseases and suggested that 3D-printed organs would perform more effectively.
Panel Discussion of Media and Early Adopters at EARD2020: Keith Comito of Lifespan.io, Sonia Arrison of 100 Plus Capital, Pat Graziosi of Life Noggin, Greg Grinberg of ActualFood and Life+, and Tim Maupin of Twocoats and Lifespan.io discuss how mass media can be used in engaging people who are receptive to the idea of life extension.
Journal Club
Short, Dysfunctional Telomeres and Kidney Fibrosis: This month, we take a look at a new paper from Dr. Maria Blasco and her team that discusses how short and dysfunctional telomeres sensitize the kidneys to develop fibrosis.
LifeXtenShow
Three Reasons for Apathy: Nicola explains why people often don’t really care about extending their lives, even in the face of a pandemic. People see a difference between natural and premature death; the problem is that either way, you’re still dead.
The Stress of Eating Less: Caloric restriction inflicts a certain kind of stress on cells, which leads to a series of interactions that are known to increase lifespan.
The Meaning of Life: Whatever meaning you choose to give your life, dying isn’t it, and aging to death subtracts, rather than adds, meaning from your life.
Interviews
The Dog Aging Project Is Ready for Takeoff: Dr. Matt Kaeberlein talks about the development of the infrastructure to support the Dog Aging Project and its canine cohorts.
Longevity Pharmacology with Dr. João Pedro de Magalhães: Dr. de Magalhães discusses longevity pharmacology along with many other topics related to how the field of rejuvenation biotechnology is progressing.
Lifespan News
Longevity Pharmacology: Pharmaceuticals for longevity, atrophy of the circadian clock, SIRT3 and lung fibrosis, research that suggests that we should look beyond biology to slow aging, and our Science to Save the World episode on ancestral memories.
Binary Clocks: A binary clock for predicting biological age, the growing number of startups focused on aging, Lifespan.io’s seventh birthday, CAR T-cell therapy against multiple myeloma, and the effects of CBD on Alzheimer’s disease.
Education and Longevity: Education and life expectancy, the CNIO and telomeres, quantum dot nanomedicine, a health-related data project in the UK, and a connection between Alzheimer’s and sight loss.
Dog Aging: The Dog Aging Project, a drug for cognitive decline in dogs, neural proteins in the bloodstream, a human clinical trial for unexplained anemia of aging, and Alzheimer Europe’s dementia recommendations.
Rejuvenation Roundup Podcast
Ryan O’Shea of Future Grind hosts this month’s podcast, showcasing the events and research discussed here.
Information and Summaries
Reprogramming Old Cells Young Again: Steve Hill discusses epigenetic alterations, epigenetic resets, induced pluripotency, and the four Yamanaka factors that encourage cells to return to a more youthful state.
A Summary of Creatine: Kali Carrigan explains the popular sports supplement creatine, its history, and its effects on muscle and age-related diseases.
A Summary of NAD+: NAD+ is a critical molecule in the basic metabolism of the human body, and Steve Hill explains what it is, how it is biologically derived, what systems it is involved in, and what it does.
A Summary of Nicotinamide Mononucleotide: This NMN precursor might be used to increase NAD+ availability in the human body, and human safety trials have been conducted for its use.
Video Gaming as a Geroprotective Strategy: This article cites studies showing that video games may provide some level of protection against cognitive decline.
Social Issues
The Social Hallmarks of Aging: Sedeer el-Showk highlights the work of USC professor Eileen Crimmins, which suggests that social factors play a significant part in aging.
Managing Stress Responses to Slow Down Aging: This article highlights the work of Professor Elissa Epel of UCSF, which shows how our reactions to stress influence aging.
Broadening Longevity Research to Social Factors: Terrie Moffitt explains how social sciences can play roles in explaining age-related diseases on the societal level and developing trials that adequately take social factors into account.
Advocacy
Increased Longevity and Immortal Dictators: The idea that curing age-related diseases might lead to unaging dictators is flawed for multiple reasons.
Some People Worry that Increased Lifespans Might be Boring: Boredom is caused by not having interesting things to do in your life, and increasing your lifespan will, of necessity, give you things to do.
Is Increasing Human Lifespan Unnatural?: Humans have done a lot of unnatural things in the past to extend our lifespans, including eradicating smallpox.
Research Roundup
Binary Clock Predicts Biological Age: Arkadi Mazin explains how this accurate, transcriptome-based clock uses a binary algorithm to smooth out noise while measuring biological age.
Reduced Nicotinamide Mononucleotide Is a New NAD+ Precursor: Reduced NMN, known as NMNH, appears to have advantages over regular NMN and NR in delivering NAD+ to cells.
Quantum Dot Nanomedicine for Longevity Drugs: This kind of nanomedicine accumulates in the liver much more quickly than other drug formulations, which has both disadvantages and advantages.
Human Trial Suggests Clearing Plaques Slows Mental Decline: An anti-amyloid antibody has finally borne fruit against Alzheimer’s disease in a human trial, although it is not a cure.
Thyroid Organoids Created From Human Tissue: Josh Conway explains how creating thyroid organoids from human tissues may one day lead to their common use in human beings, obviating the use of artificial thyroid hormones.
MSC Extracellular Vesicles Reduce Mouse Senescence: Greg Gillispie shows how extracellular vesicles explain many of the contradictory results of previous stem cell studies.
Shortened Telomeres Increase Kidney Fibrosis Rates in Mice: This study links the well-known hallmark of telomere attrition to the common disease of kidney fibrosis in a mouse model.
Stopping Colorectal Cancer From Proliferating: Proliferating cancer cells are, in many ways, still normal stem cells, and forcing them to differentiate stops them from dividing further.
Glycine and N‐acetylcysteine (GlyNAC) supplementation in older adults improves multiple biomarkers: These biomarkers include glutathione deficiency, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, insulin resistance, endothelial dysfunction, genotoxicity, muscle strength, and cognition.
Effects of Beta-Hydroxy-Beta-Methylbutyrate Supplementation on Elderly Body Composition and Muscle Strength: This meta-analysis shows that this supplement benefits the muscles of elderly people, particularly bedridden patients.
Neuroprotective potential of fisetin in an experimental model of spinal cord injury: The results suggested that fisetin significantly ameliorated histological aberrations such as neuronal degeneration, necrosis, and inflammatory infiltration.
Oral administration of Akkermansia muciniphila elevates systemic antiaging and anticancer metabolites: This gut bacterium has long been associated with health benefits, and this study provides a biochemical explanation as to why.
Senolytic elimination of Cox2-expressing senescent cells inhibits the growth of premalignant pancreatic lesions: This study shows that senescent PanIN cells support tumor growth and progression. Elimination of senescent cells may be effective as preventive therapy for the progression of precancerous lesions.
Roxithromycin attenuates bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis by targeting senescent cells: This study shows that RXM may be a potential clinical agent for IPF and targeting cellular senescence may be a promising treatment for progressive age-related disease.
VEGF-A165 gene therapy ameliorates blood-labyrinth barrier breakdown and hearing loss: AAV1-mediated VEGF-A165 gene therapy is a new strategy for ameliorating vascular associated hearing disorders, including common forms of age-related hearing loss.
Prevention of acquired sensorineural hearing loss in mice by in vivo Htra2 gene editing: It may be possible to ameliorate aminoglycoside-induced deafness via Htra2 gene editing, and CRISPR/Cas9 technology may be useful in the treatment of non-inherited diseases.
Exosomes derived from human stem cells enhanced the recovery of spinal cord injury: This study provides evidence that the use of hpMSC-derived exosomes may constitute a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of SCI.
Chitosan hydrogel-loaded MSC-derived extracellular vesicles promote skin rejuvenation: CS hydrogel-encapsulated EVs could delay the skin aging processes by ameliorating the function of aging dermal fibroblasts.
A biomarker-based biological age in UK Biobank: This study suggests that a broader, multi-system approach to the research and prevention of the diseases of aging warrants consideration.
Association of decreased DNA methylation age with improved functional age: This study demonstrates the potential utility of DNA methylation clocks to assess interventional approaches to improve health in older obese adults.
Lifestyle weight-loss intervention may attenuate methylation aging: Deviation of methylation aging from chronological age might be related to body fat distribution and glycemic control and could indicate biological age, health status and the risk for premature cardiometabolic diseases.
Aging in psoriasis vulgaris: female patients are epigenetically older than healthy controls: These findings suggest a possible presence of pathophysiological processes that occur only in female psoriatic patients.
Comparison of DNA methylation clocks in Black South African men: This study concludes that it is essential to continue studying under-represented population groups to ensure methylation-derived indicators are robust and useful in all populations.
Meta-analysis of genome-wide DNA methylation identifies shared associations across neurodegenerative disorders: This study identifies shared differentially methylated positions in whole blood between neurodegenerative disorders that point to shared pathogenic mechanisms.
Winter is coming: the future of cryopreservation: This is an in-depth review of low-temperature tissue preservation techniques and looks ahead to the future of cryonics.
A shared mechanism for lifespan extension by rapamycin, acarbose, and 17α‐estradiol: These three compounds share the same fundamental biochemical pathway as other methods of mTOR-based life extension.
The “healthy worm database” reveals strengths, weaknesses and gaps of test compound-based studies: This database offers insights into the research field of studies on healthy aging based on a frequently used model organism.
Calorie restriction prevents age-related changes in the intestinal microbiota: This study suggests that CR has a major impact on the physiological status of the gastrointestinal system, maintaining it in a more youthful state
Consumption of chilies and sweet peppers is associated with lower risk of sarcopenia in older adults: This study shows that higher consumption of chilies and sweet peppers is related to a lower risk of sarcopenia in older adults.
News Nuggets
Maximon Launches Longevity Biotech Builder: Maximon is a Switzerland-based biotech incubator that aims to identify and develop promising biotech companies that focus on creating therapies that target the aging processes.
Bioage Launches Clinical Trial for Unexplained Anemia of Aging: BioAge, in a recent press release, has announced the start of its phase 2a clinical trial in elderly patients with unexplained anemia.
Kizoo Provides Seed Funding for Elastrin Therapeutics: Rejuvenation biotechnology startup founder Kizoo has provided Elastrin, a company that focuses on removing calcification from tissue, with seed funding.
David Sinclair and Peter Attia to Co-chair $200m Biotech SPAC: Big names in longevity have put together $200 million for the creation of a special purpose acquisition company meant for fostering longevity startups.
Major Health-Related Data Project Secures Funding in the UK: In the UK, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Longevity has secured funding for its Open Life Data project, which aims to create a framework for effective and ethical collection of health-related data.