New immunotherapy developments include the use of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, allogeneic T cells, co-stimulatory signals, and engineered cytokines.
This new species, Desulfovibrio diazotrophicus, is from a family of bacteria that survive and grow on sulfur-containing compounds. They are known as sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and a biproduct of their activity is the release of the gas hydrogen sulfide, which has a characteristic ‘rotten egg’ smell. Whilst this is unpleasant for those around you, there is also some concern that it is detrimental for gut health; the presence of SRB has been associated with gut inflammation, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colorectal cancer.
Despite this, evidence for a definitive link between SRB and chronic disease has never been established. For a start, they are very widespread; around half the human population have SRB in their gut, so maybe not all of them are bad? They may even have positive effects. They release energy and nutrients from the material that other bacteria produce when they are fermenting the food we eat.
This uncertainty triggered interest from the research community, including scientists from the Quadram Institute (QI), who want to understand exactly what SRB do in the microbiome and how they interact with food and the gut. Very few species have been characterized, most from Western countries. To broaden the picture, QI researchers have been working with Professor Chen Wei and colleagues from Jiangnan University, China to isolate and characterize SRB from the intestinal tract of healthy Chinese and British people. The research was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, part of UKRI.
Scientists at UC San Francisco are learning how immune cells naturally clear the body of defunct—or senescent—cells that contribute to aging and many chronic diseases. Understanding this process may open new ways of treating age-related chronic diseases with immunotherapy.
In a healthy state, these immune cells —known as invariant Natural Killer T (iNKT) cells—function as a surveillance system, eliminating cells the body senses as foreign, including senescent cells, which have irreparable DNA damage. But the iNKT cells become less active with age and other factors like obesity that contribute to chronic disease.
Finding ways to stimulate this natural surveillance system offers an alternative to senolytic therapies, which to date have been the primary approach to removing senescent cells. It could be a boon to a field that has struggled with how to systemically administer these senolytics without serious side effects.
We’ve updated our list of top longevity conferences and events for 2021, adding 4 new ones and removing 3 that are no longer happening:
Update 5/10/2021: This post has been updated since we originally published it in August 2020. Several new longevity conferences have been added and several which are no longer happening have been removed.
Continue reading “17 Best Longevity Conferences and Events for 2021” »
Stress management.
Everyone faces stress occasionally, whether in school, at work, or during a global pandemic. However, some cannot cope as well as others. In a few cases, the cause is genetic. In humans, mutations in the OPHN1 gene cause a rare X-linked disease that includes poor stress tolerance. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Professor Linda Van Aelst seeks to understand factors that cause specific individuals to respond poorly to stress. She and her lab studied the mouse gene Ophn1, an analog of the human gene, which plays a critical role in developing brain cell connections, memories, and stress tolerance. When Ophn1 was removed in a specific part of the brain, mice expressed depression-like helpless behaviors. The researchers found three ways to reverse this effect.
To test for stress, the researchers put mice into a two-room cage with a door in between. Normal mice escape from the room that gives them a light shock on their feet. But animals lacking Ophn1 sit helplessly in that room without trying to leave. Van Aelst wanted to figure out why.
Continue reading “Reversing a Genetic Cause of Poor Stress Tolerance” »
The unprecedented study involves using the gene-editing technique CRISPR to edit a gene while it’s still inside a patient’s body. In exclusive interviews, NPR talks with two of the first participants.
The most recent Apple user survey suggests that a blood glucose monitoring feature is definitely on the table.
A team of international researchers, including Dr. Rich Crane from the Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter, have developed a new method to extract metals, such as copper, from their parent ore body.
The research team has provided a proof of concept for the application of an electric field to control the movement of an acid within a low permeability copper-bearing ore deposit to selectively dissolve and recover the metal in situ.
This is in contrast to the conventional approach for the mining of such deposits where the material must be physically excavated, which requires removal of both overburden and any impurities within the ore (known as gangue material).
7:01 they talk about Church’s comments of ending aging by 2030. Also this appears to be a part one.
In this video Professor Church talks about his theory of aging and touches on his ideas on the future of aging.
Continue reading “My Theory & The Future Of Aging | Prof George Church Interview Series Episode 1” »
Excerpts from an interview with Dr. María Blasco, Director of the Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO), where she covers how telomeres shortening induce aging, how artificially lenghtening telomeres has proven to extend lifespan in animal models like mice, and what the impact will be in human health and lifespan once the techniques (gene therapies) get effectively translated into humans.
The interview took place on May 6, 2021 as part of a program organized by the Madrid Planetarium, to contribute to a better orientation of the students of the last years of high school when deciding which university studies further engage.
