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A Naked Mole Rat Gene Was Put Into Mice, And It Made Them Live Longer

Naked mole rats are well known for living far longer lives than any rodent ought to have. It’s just one of their amazing talents for surviving in a challenging, even hostile underground environment.

A fascinating new study led by researchers from the University of Rochester in the US has shown a single gene could play a significant role in their longevity, one that could be transferred into other mammals to give their own life spans a nudge.

The gene – a version of what’s known as hyaluranon synthase 2 – produces an abundance of high-molecular-mass hyaluronic acid (HMM-HA), a compound already thought to mediate the risk of cancer in naked mole rats (Heterocephalus glaber).

Map-making neurons change even when familiar settings remain exactly the same

In a new study, Northwestern University neurobiologists have found that the brain’s internal GPS changes each time we navigate a familiar, static environment.

This means that if someone walks the same path every day—and the path and surrounding conditions remain identical—each walk still activates different “map-making” brain cells (neurons). Not only does this discovery shed light on the fundamental mystery of how the brain processes and stores , but it could also have profound implications for scientists’ understanding of memory, learning and even aging.

The study appears in Nature.

The Cryonics Community Renaissance | Max Marty at Vitalist Bay

For years the Cryonics Community was beset by a small but very-dedicated band of misfits, grifters, and trolls.

Today, Max Marty tells the true story of how he and his brave comrades cleaned things things up and cleared the way for today’s more vibrant, healthy, and welcoming Cryonics community.

This 10 minute talk was given at the Biostasis conference at Vitalist Bay.

Links:
• Cryonics Discord server: https://discord.gg/cryosphere.
• Cryonics subreddit: https://reddit.com/r/cryonics.

#cryosphere

This Common Blood Pressure Drug Extends Lifespan, Slows Aging in Animals

The hypertension drug rilmenidine has been shown to slow down aging in worms, an effect that in humans could hypothetically help us live longer and keep us healthier in our latter years.

Previous research has shown rilmenidine mimics the effects of caloric restriction on a cellular level. Reducing available energy while maintaining nutrition within the body has been shown to extend lifespans in several animal models.

Whether this translates to human biology, or is a potential risk to our health, is a topic of ongoing debate. Finding ways to achieve the same benefits without the costs of extreme calorie cutting could lead to new ways to improve health in old age.

Finding Human Brain Genes in Duplicated DNA

“Historically, this has been a very challenging problem. People don’t know where to start,” said senior author Megan Dennis, associate director of genomics at the UC Davis Genome Center and associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine and MIND Institute at the University of California, Davis.

In 2022, Dennis was a co-author on a paper describing the first sequence of a complete human genome, known as the ‘telomere to telomere’ reference genome. This reference genome includes the difficult regions that had been left out of the first draft published in 2001 and is now being used to make new discoveries.

Dennis and colleagues used the telomere-to-telomere human genome to identify duplicated genes. Then, they sorted those for genes that are: expressed in the brain; found in all humans, based on sequences from the 1,000 Genomes Project; and conserved, meaning that they did not show much variation among individuals.

They came out with about 250 candidate gene families. Of these, they picked some for further study in an animal model, the zebrafish. By both deleting genes and introducing human-duplicated genes into zebrafish, they showed that at least two of these genes might contribute to features of the human brain: one called GPR89B led to slightly bigger brain size, and another, FRMPD2B, led to altered synapse signaling.

“It’s pretty cool to think that you can use fish to test a human brain trait,” Dennis said.

The dataset in the Cell paper is intended to be a resource for the scientific community, Dennis said. It should make it easier to screen duplicated regions for mutations, for example related to language deficits or autism, that have been missed in previous genome-wide screening.

“It opens up new areas,” Dennis said.

Printing Life: 3D Bio-Printed Organs

Explores the groundbreaking world of 3D bioprinting in regenerative medicine, where custom organs printed layer-by-layer from human cells are transforming transplantation. In this video, we uncover the latest advances in bioprinting technology, from biocompatible bioinks to vascularized tissue scaffolds that mimic natural organ architecture.

Dive into the science behind printing life as we showcase flagship projects: a beating mini heart engineered with human cardiomyocytes; 3D-printed liver organoids that perform metabolic functions; and personalized kidney scaffolds seeded with patient-derived stem cells. Learn how bio-printed skin grafts with integrated blood vessels accelerate wound healing and reduce scarring and discover innovations in printing complex structures like pancreas and lung tissue.

We break down key techniques—extrusion-based bioprinting, stereolithographic printing, and sacrificial ink methods—that enable high-resolution, cell-friendly constructs. Our experts explain challenges in tissue vascularization, bioink formulation, and regulatory pathways for clinical use. Gain insights into clinical trials driving the future of organ transplants without donor shortages.

Whether you’re a biotech researcher or tech enthusiast, this video offers insights and case studies. Don’t miss this cutting-edge guide to 3D bio-printed organs and tissue engineering.

#techforgood #futureofmedicine #aiinhealthcare #medicalai #bioprinting #tissueengineering #explainervideo #scienceexplained

Sc: What research can be furthered?

What has not yet been tried? These are the questions that Inserm research director Nicolas L’Heureux has asked himself every day for a long time, « like a game ». Which means that from very early on he had the idea of pushing the limits of vascular tissue engineering – a field in which he had begun working when doing his M.Sc. « When performing a cardiac or other type of bypass, preference is given to using the patient’s own vessels that are taken from one place and transplanted into another, more critical, one. An autologous graft continues to remain the best solution, but it is a limited resource. » Diseases such as stroke, hyperlipidemia, and thrombosis, which have the particularity of being systemic – in which they attack all vessels to varying degrees –, as well as aging, weaken our vessels. And the earlier the need for surgery, the greater the likelihood of a second intervention. « A transplanted artery will withstand an average of ten years and a vein six to seven years. » Which just leaves synthetic grafts. https://www.inserm.fr/en/news/nicolas-lheureux-artificial-bl…iological/


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Computational clock identifies compounds that may rejuvenate aging brain cells

What if there was a way to make aging brain cells younger again? An international research team from Spain and Luxembourg recently set out to address this question. After developing an aging clock capable of assessing the biological age of the brain, they used it to identify possible brain-rejuvenating interventions. The computational tool they created, recently presented in the journal Advanced Science, constitutes a valuable resource to find compounds with therapeutic potential for neurodegenerative diseases.

As the world population is aging rapidly, with over two billion people projected to be above the age of 60 by 2050, age-related brain disorders are on the rise. Living longer but in is not only a daunting prospect, it also places a substantial burden on health care systems worldwide. The idea of being able to counteract the functional decline of our brain through rejuvenating interventions therefore sounds promising.

The question is, how can we identify compounds that have the potential to efficiently rejuvenate brain cells and to protect the from neurodegeneration? Prof. Antonio Del Sol and his teams of computational biologists, based both at CIC bioGUNE, member of BRTA, and the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) from the University of Luxembourg, used their machine learning expertise to tackle the challenge.

MethAgingDB: a comprehensive DNA methylation database for aging biology

Scientific Data — MethAgingDB: a comprehensive DNA methylation database for aging biology. MethAgingDB includes 93 datasets, with 11,474 profiles from 13 distinct human tissues and 1,361 profiles from 9 distinct mouse tissues. The database provides preprocessed DNA methylation data in a consistent matrix format, along with tissue-specific DMSs and DMRs, gene-centric aging insights, and an extensive collection of epigenetic clocks. Together, MethAgingDB is expected to streamline aging-related epigenetic research and support the development of robust, biologically informed aging biomarkers.

Natural Compound Found in Mushrooms Delays Aging and Extends Lifespan, Study Suggests

Psilocybin improved longevity and health markers in mice and cells. The findings reveal unexpected systemic benefits. As the anti-aging industry, fueled by optimism and a flood of supplements, generated more than $500 million in revenue last year, scientists at Emory University discovered a compo