Lifeboat Foundation

Researchers at the University of Cologne have discovered a protein complex, called DREAM, that inhibits DNA repair mechanisms in human, mouse, and nematode cells, thereby contributing to aging and disease. They successfully suppressed the DREAM complex with a pharmaceutical agent, boosting the cells’ resilience to DNA damage, and suggesting potential new treatments for aging and cancer, although further research is needed.

Researchers at the University of Cologne have found that a protein complex impedes the repair of genomic damage in human cells, mice, and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Furthermore, they were able to successfully obstruct this complex with a pharmaceutical agent for the first time.

When we suppress the so-called DREAM complex in body cells, various repair mechanisms kick in, making these cells extremely resilient towards all kinds of DNA.

Evidence that non-invasive sensory stimulation of 40 Hz gamma frequency brain rhythms can reduce Alzheimer’s disease pathology and symptoms, already shown with light and sound by multiple research groups in mice and humans, now extends to tactile stimulation. A new study by MIT scientists shows that Alzheimer’s model mice exposed to 40 Hz vibration an hour a day for several weeks showed improved brain health and motor function compared to untreated controls.

The MIT group is not the first to show that gamma frequency tactile stimulation can affect brain activity and improve motor function, but they are the first to show that the stimulation can also reduce levels of the hallmark Alzheimer’s protein phosphorylated tau, keep neurons from dying or losing their synapse circuit connections, and reduce neural DNA damage.

“This work demonstrates a third sensory modality that we can use to increase gamma power in the brain,” said Li-Huei Tsai, corresponding author of the study, director of The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and the Aging Brain Initiative at MIT, and Picower Professor in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences (BCS).

Dr. Sylvain Moreno is chief executive officer and scientific director of Circle Innovation.

Artificial intelligence (AI) holds great promise in the fight against ageism, and future technologies powered by AI can be a first step to ensure older adults are fully involved in the processes, systems and, ultimately, services that will affect them throughout the aging journey.

Healthcare providers, governments, academia, not-for-profits and businesses can ensure that AI is not only strengthening healthcare for older adults but also empowering them to meet their individual needs.

Last week, US-Israeli startup SIRTLab announced the appointment of leading geroscience researcher Nir Barzilai as its Chief Medical Adviser. The company is focused on the development of therapeutics that boost levels of a key protein called sirtuin 6 (SIRT6), which is heavily implicated in longevity.

Sirtuins are a group of proteins found in all living organisms, including humans, that play a vital role in regulating various cellular processes. There are seven different types of sirtuins, numbered from SIRT1 to SIRT7, each with its own unique functions. In recent years, SIRT6 has gained particular attention for its potential role in promoting healthy aging, and SIRTLab has put the protein at the center of its work.

Longevity. Technology: The SIRT6 protein has been shown to regulate several critical cellular pathways, including glucose metabolism, DNA repair and inflammation – all of which play key roles in aging and longevity. One of the world’s leading authorities on SIRT6 is SIRTLab co-founder and Bar-Ilan University professor Haim Cohen, whose research is behind the company’s work to develop therapeutics with longevity-boosting potential. To learn more about SIRTLab’s longevity-first approach, we spoke to its co-founder and CEO Boaz Misholi.

NewLimit, a company working towards the radical extension of human healthspan using epigenetic reprogramming has announced it has secured $40 million in Series A funding from prominent investors including Dimension, Founders Fund, and Kleiner Perkins.

This investment further bolsters the company’s belief that therapies to delay, halt or even reverse aging can be found through the exploration of epigenetic reprogramming. With a strong belief that their innovative approach can also address various age-related diseases, NewLimit aims to revolutionize the field of aging biology and pave the way for transformative advancements in healthcare.

Longevity. Technology: Epigenetic reprogramming is an emerging but exciting field of geroscience. It involves the identification of specific sets of transcription factors that can induce changes in gene expression and cellular behavior, effectively reversing or modifying the epigenetic markers associated with aging. This approach offers a unique opportunity to rejuvenate cells and tissues, potentially slowing down or even reversing the effects of aging and its related diseases. NewLimit says that while its products are designed to treat aging itself, the company also believes “these products could treat or prevent many diseases associated with aging, including fibrosis, infectious disease, and neurodegenerative disease.”

A new publication in the May issue of Nature Aging by researchers from Integrated Biosciences, a biotechnology company combining synthetic biology and machine learning to target aging, demonstrates the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to discover novel senolytic compounds, a class of small molecules under intense study for their ability to suppress age-related processes such as fibrosis, inflammation and cancer.

The paper, “Discovering small-molecule senolytics with deep neural networks,” authored in collaboration with researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, describes the AI-guided screening of more than 800,000 compounds to reveal three drug candidates with comparable efficacy and superior medicinal chemistry properties than those of senolytics currently under investigation.

“This research result is a significant milestone for both longevity research and the application of artificial intelligence to drug discovery,” said Felix Wong, Ph.D., co-founder of Integrated Biosciences and first author of the publication. “These data demonstrate that we can explore chemical space in silico and emerge with multiple candidate anti-aging compounds that are more likely to succeed in the clinic, compared to even the most promising examples of their kind being studied today.”

I have important news on the 6th anniversary of the death of my father, Steven Gyurko. The award winning feature documentary on my life IMMORTALITY OR BUST has just had its international release! You can watch it for free on Plex TV anywhere in the world. The film features my US presidential campaign fighting for life extension and driving the Immortality Bus as my father is dying. Congrats to director Daniel Sollinger!

Immortality or Bust follows Zoltan Istvan’s Transhumanist Party presidential campaign.

Summary: The neuroscience of fitness explores how regular exercise profoundly impacts our brain and nervous system.

Exercise stimulates neurogenesis – the creation of new neurons – primarily in the hippocampus, influencing memory and learning while increasing key mood-regulating neurotransmitters. It also enhances brain plasticity, essential for recovery from injury and aging, and improves cognitive functions such as attention and memory.

Despite ongoing research, the current evidence underscores the powerful role of physical activity in promoting brain health and cognitive function, emphasizing the importance of integrating regular exercise into our lifestyles.

A new study in Nature hunted down another piece to the aging puzzle. In five species across the evolutionary scale—worms, flies, mice, rats, and humans—the team honed in on a critical molecular process that powers every single cell inside the body and degrades with age.

The process, called transcription, is the first step in turning our genetic material into proteins. Here, DNA letters are reworked into a “messenger” called RNA, which then shuttles the information to other parts of the cell to make proteins.

Scientists have long suspected that transcription may go awry with aging, but the new study offers proof that it doesn’t—with a twist. In all five of the species tested, as the organism grew older the process surprisingly sped up. But like trying to type faster when blindfolded, error rates also shot up.