LongeCity - Fight Aging News

LONGEVITY MEME NEWSLETTER

December 17 2007

The Longevity Meme Newsletter is a weekly e-mail containing news, opinions

and happenings for people interested in healthy life extension: making use

of diet, lifestyle choices, technology and proven medical advances to live

healthy, longer lives. To subscribe or unsubscribe from the Longevity Meme

Newsletter, please visit http://www.longevitymeme.org/newsletter/

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CONTENTS

- Following Up On The Cato Unbound Discussion

- Progress Reports From the Methuselah Foundation

- Discussion

- Latest Healthy Life Extension Headlines

FOLLOWING UP ON THE CATO UNBOUND DISCUSSION

A collection of links and excerpts from the recent Cato Unbound debate on

radical life extension can be found in this Fight Aging! post:

http://www.fightaging.org/archives/001371.php

You'll find intelligent commentary on the Cato Unbound essays and reaction

pieces out in the blogosphere too; I'm always pleased to see growing

discussion of the path to healthy life extension. Ongoing conversation, the

broader the better, is a necessary foundation to raising support and

building a better platform for research and fundraising.

http://www.fightaging.org/archives/001372.php

"If a technology existed to eliminate the physical effects of aging, it

would be a boon to mankind, and it would be atrocious to forbid it. People

should be allowed to experience aging if they wish, of course, but if

science could make it optional, then the option should be available. And

yes, I would take it. I would definitely want to live a thousand years or

more. I would want all of my loved ones with me, and my only regret would

be that some of them are already gone and cannot be. You and I are among

the first of our species for whom physical immortality is even an outside

possibility, but if the choice ever came up, I assure you that I would go

for it."

PROGRESS REPORTS FROM THE METHUSELAH FOUNDATION

The Methuselah Foundation kicks off a newsletter series with an update on

progress in Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS) research

and development of the Mprize competition for rejuvenation science:

http://blog.methuselahfoundation.org/2007/...newslett_1.html

The scientific summaries defy easy excerpting - I encourage you to read the

full progress report for MitoSENS and LysoSENS research programs. Looking

forward to 2008, new research programs for other strands of SENS are in the

pipeline, enabled by the steady increase in Foundation funding:

"Most people are aware of the amyloid deposits associated with Alzheimer's

Disease: they are the main constituent of senile plaques, the aggregates

that accumulate in the spaces between neurons as the disease progresses.

Encouraging progress is being made in stimulating the body's immune system

to eliminate these deposits. However, amyloid composed of different

proteins also accumulates in other tissues during aging. Progress in

removing these other amyloids has been much less intensive thus far, even

though they are, if anything, more clearly linked to the progression of

age-related illness than senile plaques are to Alzheimer's. I have been in

preliminary discussion with one of the leaders in this area, with a view to

initiating work as soon as possible.

"WILT, the anti-cancer therapy incorporated into SENS, entails (among other

things) the elimination of genes for the enzyme telomerase, which allows

cancer cells to divide indefinitely without losing material from the ends

of their chromosomes. Unfortunately, about 10% of cancers solve this

problem in a different way, not using telomerase, via a process known as

ALT, for alternative lengthening of telomeres. Even more unfortunately, ALT

is still only very poorly understood. Recently, however, some intriguing

observations in two different organs have given good reason to suspect a

hitherto unsuspected gene. A relatively simple sequence of initial

experiments could test this, and I am already in discussions with a leading

ALT researcher concerning the possibility of launching this project."

Beyond the progress in Foundation-funded SENS research, researchers

continue to sign up to compete for the Mprize for rejuvenation research:

"To broaden the field of competing research, a focused program was

initiated this year to actively recruit new competitors, expanding the

'mouse race' for breakthroughs in preventive and regenerative anti-aging

biotechnology. Spearheading this campaign is Elliot Bergman, Ph.D., of

biotech consulting firm ChemLifeSciences, as the Foundation's Competitor

Development Coordinator.

"Elliot's efforts to date have brought in four new competitors for the

Prize, for a total of eleven scientific teams independently racing to

extend the lives of their furry subjects as of this writing. The four most

recent additions are Professor Andrzej Bartke of Southern Illinois

University; Professor Craig Cooney of the University of Arkansas for

Medical Sciences; Alan Cash, founder of Terra Biological LLC; and Elise

Sacane, co-founder of Neural Learning Systems. Each of these teams is

testing a different anti-aging strategy, creating exactly the kind of

wide-open, multi-strategy competition needed to weed out ineffective

approaches and bring successful therapies into the spotlight.

"Several other potential competitors have been identified and are being

qualified for participation. We hope to have a total of 130-15 competitors

by the first quarter of 2008."

DISCUSSION

The highlights and headlines from the past week follow below. If you have

comments for us, please do send e-mail to newsletter@longevitymeme.org

Remember - if you like this newsletter, the chances are that your friends

will find it useful too. Forward it on, or post a copy to your favorite

online communities. Encourage the people you know to pitch in and make a

difference to the future of health and longevity!

Reason

reason@longevitymeme.org

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LATEST HEALTHY LIFE EXTENSION HEADLINES

To view commentary on the latest news headlines complete with links and

references, please visit the daily news section of the Longevity Meme:

http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

Reporting Progress at the Methuselah Foundation (December 14 2007)

http://blog.methuselahfoundation.org/2007/...newslett_1.html

The Methuselah Foundation fills us in on progress to date: "We are

currently sponsoring research in two of the seven strands of the SENS

program; the preventing the harm caused by mitochondrial mutations

(MitoSENS) and degrading damaging long-lived cellular debris (LysoSENS) ...

our teams have already seen interesting results and are moving forward

rapidly. ... When these projects began in the summer of 2005, there was no

strong evidence to suggest that any enzymes or organisms degrading

intracellular junk existed in nature [but] reseach volunteers had

successfully cultured [7-ketocholesterol (7KC)] degraders before the end of

2005. ... 2006 saw further characterization of the 7KC degraders and

corroboration of the results. In summer 2007, six undergraduate research

assistants and one additional PhD candidate [helped] with synthesizing

additional target compounds, such as A2E and CML (a major [advanced

glycation end-product]). ... [today, researchers] are preparing to move

them into a cell model of age-related macular degeneration for initial

safety and efficacy testing. Various other projects [are] at earlier

stages. Novel targets include artificial lipofuscin and the infamous

glucosepane AGE-crosslink."

Neurodegeneration and Altered Autophagy (December 14 2007)

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/...71214144956.htm

More evidence for autophagy as a good thing - above and beyond its

apparently pivotal role in calorie restriction benefits - from

ScienceDaily: "Suppressing a cellular cleanup mechanism known as autophagy

can accelerate the accumulation of protein aggregates that leads to neural

degeneration. [Scientists] report for the first time that the opposite is

true as well: Boosting autophagy in the nervous system of fruit flies

prevented the age-dependent accumulation of cellular damage in neurons and

promoted longevity. ... We discovered that levels of several key pathway

members are reduced in Drosophila neural tissue as a normal part of aging.

Which suggests there is an age-dependent suppression of autophagy that may

be a contributing factor for human neurodegenerative disorders like

Alzheimer's disease. ... Keeping cells free of damaged molecules is

critical for neurons because unlike many cells, they do not divide or

replace themselves once created at birth. ... They rely on autophagy

together with other clearance and detoxification pathways to keep

themselves healthy and functioning for decades."

An Interview With Michael Rose (December 13 2007)

http://www.genengnews.com/blog/item.aspx?id=236

Gene Engineering News is broadening its scope with podcasts on late, such

as this interview with researcher Michael Rose: "science is now gaining a

better understanding of the human aging process, with the ultimate goal of

exerting some control over it. During this week's podcast, Dr. Michael

Rose, developer of the long-lived Methuselah fruit fly line and one of the

pioneers in aging research, offers his insights on the science of aging. He

addresses such questions as 'why we age' and 'are aging and age-related

disease synonymous?' Does the concept of humans one day living to be

150-years-old or more lie in the realm of science or science fiction? A

specialist in evolutionary biology, Dr. Rose talks about how can advances

in evolutionary biology can help us postpone aging. He discusses why severe

caloric restriction will not substantially increase the lifespans of humans

although it often does so in animal models. Dr. Rose also presents his case

that there is a serious, hardcore, mathematical, scientific theory that

underlies aging, but that a paucity of mathematically-inclined biologists

is inhibiting discussion and further advances in the scientific study of

aging based [on] this theory."

Ouroboros On p53 Decline and Late-Life Cancer (December 13 2007)

http://ouroboros.wordpress.com/2007/12/13/...te-life-cancer/

From Chris Patil Ouroboros: "If p53 were to somehow go AWOL in a cell, it

would bode poorly for cancer prevention. Lacking this critical checkpoint

control, genetically damaged cells could go on cycling, perhaps developing

additional genomic changes that further encourage unrestricted growth, and

eventually becoming frankly neoplastic. A recent study from Arnie Levine's

lab shows that the p53 response to one form of genotoxic stress (ionizing

radiation) becomes less efficient [in] old mice. If this finding is general

to other humans, it could partially explain why the risk of tumors

increases exponentially with age. ... I wonder whether a contributing

factor might be adaptation of the signaling pathways involved. Signaling

pathways almost always involve some negative feedback; among other things,

this serves to prevent inappropriate activation of a pathway in response to

a low baseline level of stimulus, to preserve the dynamic range of the

system and reset the threshold so that it can be triggered only by really

noteworthy events." Patil goes on to suggest an off the cuff theory as to

how declines in p53 - and increased propensity to cancer - might operate,

some tests of the hypothesis, and how the system might be reset if true.

Xenotransplanting New Mitochondria (December 12 2007)

http://pmid.us/18069915

I think you'll agree this is an intriguing addition to the stable of

potential methods to replace damaged mitochondria, and thus remove their

contribution to aging and age-related disease: "Mitochondrial DNA [or

mtDNA] mutations are the direct cause of several physiological disorders

and are also associated with the aging process. The modest progress made

over the past two decades towards manipulating the mitochondrial genome and

understanding its function within living mammalian cells means that cures

for mitochondrial DNA mutations are still elusive. Here, we report that

transformed mammalian cells internalize exogenous isolated mitochondria

upon simple co-incubation. We first demonstrate the physical presence of

internalized mitochondria within recipient cells using fluorescence

microscopy. Second, we show that xenogenic transfer of murine mitochondria

into human cells lacking functional mitochondria can functionally restore

respiration in cells lacking mtDNA." I'm sure you can speculate on how one

would build therapies upon this basis, should it be made safe and reliable.

Kevin Dewalt's End Aging YouTube Challenge (December 12 2007)

http://kevindewalt.com/blog/2007/12/09/end-aging/

From Kevin Dewalt: "My End Aging Challenge is simple: Create and post a

reply to this video on YouTube explaining why you support Dr. Aubrey de

Grey's and the Methuselah Foundation's mission to end aging. I will donate

$10 to the Methuselah Foundation for every video response. If you have the

means, I also suggest that you offer in your video response to match me

with a donation of your own for every video. After you shoot your video,

follow this link to post your video reply." Good show. If you want

something done, no matter how daunting or large the task, the best way to

go about it is to get out there and help make it happen. Put your shoulder

to the wheel and lead by example. It matters not the size and weight of

that wheel, as many hands make light work. It matters greatly that you show

that the job exists, and that someone is willing to work at getting it

done. Where is one willing worker exists, there will soon be more.

Tissue Engineering From Now To 2021 (December 11 2007)

http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdfplus/1...9/ten.2007.0335

This PDF analysis looks at challenges and advances for the next 15 years of

tissue engineering, as seen by scientists in the field: "highly strategic

issues often may not lie at the forefront of our day-to-day conception of

the most important foci in the field, making such analyses more important

to undertake. For example, the strategically most important category,

angiogenic control [or engineering blood vessels], was supported by only

four contributed ideas. However, its dominance over nine other concepts and

its low level of present progress propelled it to the top of the list of

strategic concepts. Clearly, mastering the control of angiogenesis will be

at the heart of any attempts to grow larger tissue engineered constructs

than have thus far been achievable. This will apply whether such growth

occurs in vitro or within the body as a response to cell and/or scaffold

implantation. Stem cell science is the second most strategic concept. [It]

may well be that the understanding and control of stem cell development

will enable us to short circuit some of the tissue engineering methods used

heretofore - perhaps allowing the concurrent growth of vascular systems

with parenchymal tissues."

Methuselah Foundation Pledge Total Tops $10 Million (December 11 2007)

http://blog.methuselahfoundation.org/2007/...n_pledge_t.html

From the Methuselah Foundation: "With the flood of generous year-end

donations during this time of triple matching challenges, we're pleased to

announce that the grand total of pledges and donations to the Methuselah

Foundation has passed $10 million! This counts the Mprize for longevity

science, SENS research - which itself recently passed the $5 million mark -

and expense donations. This wonderful goal has been accomplished in just

four years due to the hard work and generosity of many hundreds of people,

volunteers, donors and supporters. We thank you all, and look forward to

keeping up the accelerating pace over the next four years." The Methuselah

Foundation is one of the great success stories of the transhumanist

community. People moved beyond just talking about the future and stepped up

to help shape that future. The $10 million dollar mark is a great

milestone, and an impossibly distant milestone when we were looking at Dave

Gobel's idea for the Three Hundred back in 2004 - but here we are, and

onward we go. Thank you all.

Alcor Critical Care Medical Panel Transcript (December 10 2007)

http://www.acceleratingfuture.com/people-blog/?p=327

The People Database blog continues a sterling job of recording the dialogue

of the healthy life extension community: "There are many ways we can define

cryonics. Sometimes it is presented as a scientific experiment done on

humans. The direction that we are headed in now is to present it as a

long-term form of critical care medicine. ... The point is, doctors tend to

be a rather stilted lot. They don't necessarily embrace things that work

just because they work. They have to go through a kind of culturalization.

As far as cryonics goes, leaving the realm of science fiction and entering

the realm of critical care medicine, the entry point will be fairly

rigorous and will involve randomized double-blind studies to show

potential. Of course, you have to remember that the whole point of science

is imagination. This is imaginative. Anything that is imaginative is

welcome. If it can be shown to have some scientific rationality, if it can

be shown to make sense, eventually it will slowly blend into a very stilted

bunch of people who don't accept things readily."

SENS Research Donations Tripled Until Year End (December 10 2007)

http://blog.methuselahfoundation.org/2007/...s_research.html

Good news from the Methuselah Foundation: "You might recall in 2006 that

Peter Thiel made a $3 million Matching Challenge to SENS Research, where he

matches 50% of donations to research until the end of 2009. Well, our

performance and Thiel's example have prompted a supporter and Three Hundred

Member, Michael Cooper, to join in. He is offering a $25,000 Matching

Challenge of his own until the end of this month. ... Your donations to

speed research into repairing the damage of aging and extending the healthy

human lifespan will be matched 2-to-1 until the end of 2007, expanding your

donation threefold. ... The two presently open Donation Challenges match

donations to SENS Research cumulatively. That is, newer matching pledges

are evaluated first and the amount matched is added to the incoming

donation before the amount for the next matching pledge is calculated,

magnifying the value of the donation substantially. At present, a $100

donation (enough for a free autographed copy of 'Ending Aging') is

leveraged to $300!" If you've been thinking about stepping up to help make

a real difference to the field of aging research, now is the time. If not

now, when?

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If you have comments for us, please do send e-mail to

newsletter@longevitymeme.org.

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