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Archive for the ‘genetics’ category: Page 420

Mar 8, 2018

Suicide Gene Therapy Works to Kill Cancer Cells

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, life extension

Some cancer cells express some of the same genes that senescent cells do, so it makes sense that drugs that destroy senescent cells may also destroy cancer cells. This was what the researchers in this new study set out to test.

However, in this experiment, the researchers discovered that the chosen senolytic drugs were not effective at destroying cancer cells with senescence-associated gene expression. While cancer cells and senescent cells do share some common properties, they are also quite different at an epigenetic level.

The researchers did, however, demonstrate that a so-called “suicide gene therapy” that causes both senescent cells and cancer cells to kill themselves worked by targeting senescence-associated p16Ink4a. This approach is similar to that of SENS spin-off company Oisin Biotechnologies, which is using a suicide gene therapy to eliminate senescent cells.

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Mar 7, 2018

Bioquark Inc. — Conferences on Death / Death Reversal — Ira Pastor

Posted by in categories: aging, bioengineering, biotech/medical, cryonics, disruptive technology, DNA, futurism, genetics, health, life extension

Two pivotal conferences on the topic of “death” coming up!!

First at the INSERM Liliane Bettencourt School on March 16–18 will be “Death: From Cells to Societies — Aging, Dying, and Beyond” -

Then, April 11–13 at Harvard Medical School, will be “Defining Death: Organ transplantation and the 50-year legacy of the Harvard report on brain death”

Continue reading “Bioquark Inc. — Conferences on Death / Death Reversal — Ira Pastor” »

Mar 6, 2018

Bioquark Inc. — Mama Bear Cancer Coach Radio Show — Ira Pastor

Posted by in categories: aging, biological, business, DNA, futurism, genetics, health, life extension, neuroscience, transhumanism

https://www.spreaker.com/user/10066453/030518-mama-bear-cancer-coach-ira-pastor

Mar 5, 2018

Waking up From the Dream of Longevity

Posted by in categories: biological, genetics, internet, life extension, robotics/AI, space

In the course of the last century, science fiction has been a harbinger of things to come. From the automatic sliding doors of Star Trek to visual communication, cyberspace, and even the moon landing, many of our present technological achievements were dreamed up in the futuristic visions of science fiction authors of the 1960s and 70s. Indeed, the fantastical world of science fiction, while not intended to be prophetic, has ended up acting as a blueprint for our modern world.

We have learned from science fiction not only the possibilities of technology, however, but also its irreconcilable dangers. Readers of the genre will recognize the many stories warning us of the hazards of space travel, mind enhancement, and artificial intelligence. These fictional accounts cautioned that if we were not careful, our freedom to transform the world around us would transmogrify into a self-enforced slavery.

Nonetheless, while many of us remembered that these were just stories, intended as speculations about a possible future—in other words, they were fiction before science—through them, we became used to the idea that any advanced technology was inherently dangerous and its use always suspect. Moreover, it became a commonplace idea that technologies whose aim was to change or transform the human being—whether genetic, biological or reconstructive—would lead to a future worthy of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

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Mar 5, 2018

Would You Opt for Immortality?

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, life extension, neuroscience

Before the 7.6 billion people alive today, demographers estimate that about 100 billion people lived and died. This is the reality of the human condition. Memento mori, as medieval Christians reflected—Remember that you have to die.

What if it didn’t have to be this way? There are, in fact, organisms whose bodies steadily and reliably replace cells with healthier cells, and whose tissues and organs self-repair and maintain their vigor. They’re called children. And there are cells in adults that divide indefinitely. They’re called cancer. What if there were a way to genetically re-engineer and chemically reprogram our cells to divide indefinitely like they do in children, and to continue this process throughout adulthood without becoming cancerous? Could we become immortal?

“I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work,” Woody Allen once said, “I want to achieve immortality through not dying. I don’t want to live on in the hearts of my countrymen; I want to live on in my apartment.” There are today well-funded groups of scientists who believe we can do just that. If these techno-dreamers succeed, would you want to live for 150 years? 300 years? Or even 500 years? I’m not talking about being brain-dead and bedridden on a morphine drip. I mean living a full, rich physical and mental life for centuries, possibly forever. Would you opt for immortality?

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Mar 2, 2018

Crowdsourced family tree yields new insights about humanity

Posted by in categories: genetics, life extension

Researchers have amassed a family tree of 13 million people to trace the last 500 years of Western marriage and migration patterns. They also show that the genetic basis of longevity is lower than many have suggested.

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Mar 2, 2018

Chinese Doctors Are Using Modified T-Cells to Treat Advanced Forms of Cancer

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics

According to China’s National Central Cancer Registry, Esophageal cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in China. Like many other types, cancer of the esophagus can be treated with chemotherapy. But, as is also true of other forms of cancer, chemotherapy isn’t always successful. In China, and around the world, there’s a great need for the development of new treatments.

Dr. Shixiu Wu, president of the Hangzhou Cancer Hospital, has tested a somewhat new treatment that takes a patient’s T-cells from the body, genetically edits them to target cancerous cells, then puts the altered cells back. If the process sounds at all familiar, it’s probably because using T-cells in this manner was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration back in August 2017.

Continue reading “Chinese Doctors Are Using Modified T-Cells to Treat Advanced Forms of Cancer” »

Mar 2, 2018

Bioquark Inc. — Cafe Esoterica Radio (Part 2) — Ira Pastor

Posted by in categories: aging, astronomy, biotech/medical, business, cosmology, DNA, futurism, genetics, health, life extension

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cafeesotericaradio/2018/03/02/c…generation

Mar 2, 2018

Using big data analysis to significantly boost cancer treatment effectiveness

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, computing, genetics, information science, life extension

Summary: Treatability of cancer was raised to over 80% by a new intelligent system that sifts through massive genetic datasets to pinpoint targets for cancer treatment, say these scientists. [This article first appeared on LongevityFacts. Author: Brady Hartman. ]

Scientists in Singapore have discovered a significantly improved way to treat cancer by listening to many different computer programs rather than just one.

Their new computer program reaches a consensus on how to treat a specific tumor, and it is significantly more accurate than existing predictive methods. The system isolates the Achilles heel of each individual tumor, helping doctors to choose the best treatment.

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Mar 2, 2018

The Military Wants Genetically-Modified Sea Creatures to Snitch on Enemy Ships

Posted by in categories: ethics, genetics, military

Critics of the militarization of marine life say the problem with a new DARPA program is moral, not practical.

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