Lifeboat Foundation

Scientists have successfully created mice with significantly longer telomeres than normal, resulting in a drop in molecular ageing, without using genetic manipulation.

Telomeres, which are found at the end of all animals’ chromosomes, are thought to be vital to ending ageing, as their shortening as we age is a key factor in cellular ageing and the onset of age-related disease. However, when they are lengthened beyond normal levels in mice, they have the precise opposite effect, protecting against ageing and related diseases, and increasing lifespan.

The mice, which are chimeras carrying both regular and “hyper-long” telomeres, were created using a technique based on epigenic changes, where embryonic stem cells are expanded in vitro, prompting changes to telomeres.

Continue reading “Ageing breakthrough: Scientists create ‘hyper-long’ telomeres without gene editing” »

The cells with hyper-long telomeres in these mice appear to be perfectly functional. When the tissues were analysed at various moments (0, 1, 6 and 12 months of life), these cells maintained the additional length scale (they shortened over time but at a normal rhythm), accumulated less DNA damage and had a greater capacity to repair any damage. In addition, the animals presented a lower tumour incidence than normal mice.

These results show that pluripotent stem cells that carry hyper-long telomeres can give rise to organisms with telomeres that remain young at the molecular level for longer. According to the authors, this “proof of concept means that it is possible to generate adult tissue with longer telomeres in the absence of genetic modifications”.

The Telomeres and Telomerase Group at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), in collaboration with the Centre’s Transgenic Mice Core Unit, has succeeded in creating mice in the laboratory with hyper-long telomeres and with reduced molecular ageing, avoiding the use of what to date has been the standard method: genetic manipulation. This new technique based on epigenetic changes that is described today in the pages of Nature Communications, avoids the manipulation of genes in order to delay molecular ageing. The study also underlines the importance of this new strategy in generating embryonic stem cells and iPS cells with long telomeres for use in regenerative medicine.

Continue reading “Scientists create mice with hyper-long telomeres without altering the genes” »

Scientists have long used NAD+ as a powerful anti-aging tool. While trying to find a cure for aging, scientists increased the levels of NAD+ within the mitochondria. The mitochondria responded by increasing their performance and energy, which effectively neutralizes the effects of aging.

Lead researcher Johan Auwerx explained that “this work could have very important implications in the field of regenerative medicine,” adding that it may one day be possible to bypass surgery and repair the body with a dietary supplement.

Specifically, nicotinamide riboside “effectively delayed early- and late-stage disease progression, by robustly inducing mitochondrial biogenesis in skeletal muscle and brown adipose tissue, preventing mitochondrial ultrastructure abnormalities and [mitochondrial DNA] deletion formation.”

Money can buy you immortality, according to the Russian internet multi-millionaire who is ploughing a fortune into a project to create a human that never dies.

The Search For Immortality … https://www.facebook.com/jasonlsilva/videos/1627219640875648/

What do we do when we know everything — including our love for one another — will pass?

The race is on to develop the first senescent cell clearance therapies (a.k.a., “senolytics”) to reverse the aging process and treat age-related diseases.

Let’s formulate the task of life extension slightly differently. Something like this…How can we extend sex appeal?

Gyms and beauty salons are in charge of this question now. There is some success, but it’s mostly superficial. Plastic surgery only masks, but doesn’t delay the processes of aging.

Expanding sex appeal is a complex task. Its aspects include both beauty and the activity of the brain. To be sexually attractive we have to be smart and fun. One cannot solve the problem of dementia with makeup.

Continue reading “31 responses to ‘Neverending Sex’” »

Here’s an article on transhumanism in Oregon’s largest paper, The Oregonian: It highlights something I’m trying to create: the impact of a “longevity vote” in the elections to make a difference for the length of people’s lifespans.

Zoltan Istvan is ready to encourage his supporters to vote for either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump in November — if one of the major-party candidates agrees to put him to work in the White House.

And they’d better take his offer seriously, because he figures he just might be able to tip the election whichever way he wants.

Continue reading “Transhumanist visionary Zoltan Istvan believes Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton need him to win” »

MMTP Campaign update “Aging is a disease”.

Crowdfunding Campaign: https://www.lifespan.io/campaigns/the-major-mouse-testing-program/

Continue reading “MMTP — Major Mouse Testing Program — Interview with Daria Khaltourina — ILA” »