Life Extension

Glycation arises from the interaction of sugars with proteins, decorating proteins with additional structures that alter their function. Advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) are a broad class of glycated proteins. The presence of AGEs is a form of stress on cells and systems in the body; some forms drive chronic inflammation through interaction with the receptor for AGEs (RAGE), while other forms alter the structural properties of the extracellular matrix by cross-linking collagen and other molecules to restrict their motion. Relatively little work has taken place on ways to address the problem of excessive AGEs in aging and age-related disease, unfortunately. Compared to more popular topics in the life sciences, the study of AGEs, and particularly their interactions with the extracellular matrix, remains underfunded and gives […]

Stem cells support tissues by generating a supply of daughter somatic cells to replace losses. A broad body of evidence points to reduced muscle stem cell activity as a major contributing cause of age-related loss of muscle mass and strength. Other evidence suggests that this stem cell population remains capable; when old muscle stem cells are removed from the aged tissue environment for assessment, they appear to be as capable as young muscle stem cells. Researchers are now interested in establishing how an aged environment interacts with muscle stem cells to reduce their activity, with an eye to developing therapies to interfere in specific mechanisms as they are uncovered. Frailty arising from loss of muscle function and mass is a significant health concern impacting quality […]

The human gut harbors a complex ecosystem of trillions of microorganisms (the microbiome), which influences digestion, the immune system and metabolism. A research team led by the University of Vienna has used the "reverse ecology" analytical approach to demonstrate that many known gut bacterial species consist of several evolutionarily distinct groups that have adapted to different conditions in the gut. Some of these populations are associated with advanced age, chronic inflammatory bowel diseases, colorectal cancer and type 2 diabetes. The findings have now been published in Nature and may in future improve the search for biomarkers and, in the long term, enable more precise therapies.

The collective influence on aging of insulin, insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), growth hormone, and the receptors for these signal molecules is well studied. It is arguably the most well studied area of cellular biochemistry and metabolism in the context of aging, a central set of mechanisms that regulate the evolved trade-off between growth and maintenance, and which is strongly influenced by the equally well studied intervention of calorie restriction. Numerous animal studies have demonstrated that interfering in various specific parts of this collection of signaling processes is capable of at least modestly slowing aging. In the case of the growth hormone receptor, genetic engineering to cause life-long loss of function produced what remain the longest lived mouse lineages to be generated in the laboratory. These […]

Long-lived naked mole-rats are eusocial: like ants and bees, they live in colonies led by a queen that is the only female that reproduces. Naked mole-rats are extremely long-lived in comparison to other similarly sized mammals, and this tendency towards greater longevity shows up in many other eusocial species. It crosses evolutionary clades and ecological niches, which might lead one to ask what exactly it is about eusociality that promotes longevity. Here, researchers offer a hypothesis based on modeling. Animals such as bees, ants, wasps, termites, and naked mole-rats live in colonies in which a single queen is the only female reproductive, an arrangement known as eusociality. Eusocial animals are known for their remarkably long lifespans. It has been argued that longevity becomes selected when […]

With cutting-edge sports medicine and sci-fi gadgetry, more and more athletes are figuring out how to extend their careers.

For the first time, a stem cell model has produced a structure resembling an early human embryo with

A new study suggests travel could be a surprisingly powerful anti-aging tool. By viewing tourism through the lens of entropy, researchers found that positive travel experiences may help the body stay balanced and resilient. Activities like exploring new places, staying active, and connecting with others can boost immunity, metabolism, and stress recovery. However, stressful or unsafe travel could reverse these benefits.

Some varieties of hydra are immortal, in the sense that mortality rate and measures of function do not change over time. A hydra is in essence a sophisticated bundle of stem cells, somewhat analogous to an early embryo, capable of replacing any of its component parts. Are there aspects of hydra cellular biochemistry that could be introduced into more structured, sophisticated species to extend life? One view is that hydra-like strategies for longevity are incompatible with a central nervous system that retains information. Another view is that this point doesn't rule out all of the potentially interesting biochemistry in this species. Certainly, researchers have already started to move genes and other aspects of cellular biochemistry from long-lived species to short-lived species, such as from naked […]

Among individuals with aplastic anemia, different blood stem cells in the same person independently acquire gene mutations allowing escape from immune attack, and for some people these “rescuing” stem cell clones are sufficient to restore blood production and enable long-term remission. The post Blood Stem Cells Evade Immune Attack in Aplastic Anemia Through Gene Mutations appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

The blood industry is enormous, a long-standing component of the medical industry and one of the largest areas of focus for regulators. Blood is donated and sold in immense amounts, processed and separated into countless different fractions, and those fractions used in equally immense amounts. A sizable research and development community views the contents of human blood in much the same way as others view libraries of small molecules: a domain in which the focus is on discovery of potential new uses in medicine. Since the modern resurrection of heterochronic parabiosis studies, in which an old mouse and young mouse have their circulatory systems linked, the role of alterations in blood contents with age has been a growing topic of interest. Evidence strongly suggests that […]

To be truly inclusive, public outdoor spaces must meet the needs of the entire population, regardless of age, physical ability or mobility.

A Hiroshima-University-led research team has discovered a key gene responsible for the initiation of gemma development, acting as a "master switch" to start asexual reproduction (cloning) in the model plant Marchantia polymorpha (common liverwort).

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Inflammation in the brain is thought to be important in the progression of neurodegenerative conditions, disruptive to cell and tissue function. Understanding why the other features of neurodegenerative disease activate chronic inflammation in the brain is a necessary first step on the long road to the development of therapies capable of selectively suppressing this harmful inflammation while only minimally interfering in the normal, necessary inflammatory response to pathogens and injury. The protein called STING normally functions as part of the immune system's early-warning system. In the brains of people with Alzheimer's, the team discovered that STING undergoes a chemical modification known as S-nitrosylation (or SNO, a reaction involving sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen) that promotes its overactivation. Blocking this chemical change to STING in a mouse […]

Blood tests measuring the aging of certain white blood cells can predict cognitive and mood-related symptoms of depression, rather than physical symptoms.

Fight Aging! publishes news and commentary relevant to the goal of ending all age-related disease, to be achieved by bringing the mechanisms of aging under the control of modern medicine. This weekly newsletter is sent to thousands of interested subscribers. To subscribe to the newsletter, please visit: https://www.fightaging.org/newsletter/. To unsubscribe, send email or reply to this email at newsletter@fightaging.org with "unsubscribe" in the subject or body. Longevity Industry Consulting Services Reason, the founder of Fight Aging! and Repair Biotechnologies, offers strategic consulting services to investors, entrepreneurs, and others interested in the longevity industry and its complexities. To find out more: https://www.fightaging.org/services/ Contents Does Exposure to Air Pollution Literally Accelerate Aging? Naked Mole-Rats Exhibit Little Change in Gut Microbiome Composition with Age Phosphatidylcholine Synthesis Declines with […]

Years before he conducted the research that would earn him a Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD, was a postdoctoral scientist at Gladstone Institutes, studying genes.

Nature is the foremost international weekly scientific journal in the world and is the flagship journal for Nature Portfolio. It publishes the finest peer-reviewed research in all fields of science and technology on the basis of its originality, importance, interdisciplinary interest, timeliness, accessibility, elegance and surprising conclusions. Nature publishes landmark papers, award winning news, leading comment and expert opinion on important, topical scientific news and events that enable readers to share the latest discoveries in science and evolve the discussion amongst the global scientific community.

Some evidence suggests that deubiquitylases are relevant to aging. These enzymes remove ubiquitin from proteins; recall that the decoration of a protein with ubiquitin enables it to be broken down into raw materials for further protein synthesis by a proteasome. Alongside autophagy, the ubiquitin-proteasome system is one of the important processes by which a cell maintains quality control and otherwise manages its contents. Managing which proteins are flagged by ubiquitin necessarily involves removal, not just addition, and thus the existence of deubiquitylases. Here, researchers provide evidence for rising levels of oxidative stress in the aging brain to impair the activity of deubiquitylases. As is usually the case in these matters, it is unknown as to the relative importance of this issue versus all of the […]

You may recall the epidemiological study indicating that populations at moderate altitude exhibit better long term health and a lower risk of age-related disease. The authors of that study suggested that this is because a greater level physical activity is involved in day to day activities in hilly regions, but this hypothesis is far from proven. Going beyond moderate elevation, we enter the realm of mild hypoxia as oxygen levels fall with increasing height above sea level. Interestingly, evidence suggests that intermittent mild hypoxia is beneficial, being one of the many forms of stress that cells react to with improved maintenance. Sustained mild hypoxia of the sort one achieves by living at a sufficiently high altitude is a different story, however. In today's open access […]

In the matter of treating aging as a medical condition, emulating centenarians is not good enough; these survivors to advanced old age are still greatly impacted by aging, are frail and vulnerable, with high mortality rates. Nonetheless, the study of centenarian biochemistry might tell us something about which aspects of aging are more or less important than others. For example, see this review of what is known of the immune systems of centenarians. That there are noteworthy differences in immune aging in this population points to the importance of the age-related decline of immune function in degenerative aging, something that should be given significant attention by the research and development communities. Immunosenescence refers to the gradual decline in immune efficacy linked to aging, resulting in […]

The company Seragon funded researchers to run a study of their combination therapy. The results indicate an improvement on the effects of rapamycin treatment in aged mice. Neither Seragon nor the researchers reveal the identity of all of the combination components, but it includes a number of well-known supplements. In general, one should be skeptical regarding any initially published outcomes resulting from this sort of approach to slowing aging, given the evidence for many combinations of molecules that adjust metabolism to interfere with one another's benefits, and the further evidence from the very rigorous Interventions Testing Program showing that many molecules previously thought to slow aging in fact to not slow aging. In defense of Seragon, the researchers did use a relatively large number of […]

Disrupting the eye’s internal limiting membrane enables transplanted stem cell–derived retinal ganglion cells to survive, migrate, and form connections, offering a potential future treatment for optic nerve damage. The post Restoring Vision with Stem Cell–Derived Retinal Cells by Overcoming ILM Barrier appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

Researchers at the Leibniz Institute on Aging - Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI) in Jena found that oxidative stress in the aging brain inhibits the activity of deubiquitylases.

WEDNESDAY, April 29, 2026 — A new way of using umbilical cord blood — by pooling blood from multiple donors — could make it easier to receive a stem cell transplant for leukemia, a new study says.Nearly everyone in a small group of patients who rece...

Similar claims circulated after Jolie's appearance at a fashion event in Shanghai in March 2026, where close-up videos sparked debate about her facial features.

Palmyra Atoll, a remote, uninhabited speck of land, coral and sea halfway between Hawaii and American Samoa, is one of the healthiest, intact atolls on the planet—so ecologically sensitive that visiting researchers freeze their clothes at night to kill invasive species.

A 60 Minutes Australia investigation reveals new allegations about Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch, including a 'designer baby project.' New Mexico's Truth Commission is investigating these claims.

Presently largely irreversible lung disease like idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were one of the first conditions targeted for the development of senolytic therapies to clear senescent cells. A range of evidence supports a prominent role for an increased burden of senescent cells in airway and lung tissues in these conditions. Here, researchers discuss a more recent approach to senolytic therapy, employing a proteolysis-targeting chimera approach to make the cell break down one of the proteins involved in senescent cell survival. Senescent cells, unlike normal cells, are primed to undergo the programmed cell death of apoptosis. They are only held back from that fate by the activity of a few proteins, including BCLXL, which is the target here. When levels of BCLXL […]

Senescent cells accumulate with age, but not all senescent populations are equal. Evidence suggests that some types of senescent cell cause more harm than others, and the research here is an example of this. Researchers find that a population of senescent macrophages in liver tissue acts as an important driver of chronic inflammation and dysfunction in liver aging and the metabolic liver disease associated with excess fat tissue that leads to cirrhosis and cancer. Senolytic therapies that selectively destroy the senescent macrophages reduce liver inflammation and liver dysfunction in mice, proving the point. Cellular senescence drives chronic sterile inflammation during aging via the senescence-associated secretory phenotype, yet the senescent cell types responsible are poorly defined. Macrophages share multiple features of senescence, including inflammatory secretion, yet […]

It is well established that long term exposure to forms of air pollution increases the risk of mortality and numerous age-related conditions. The mechanisms of interest revolve around increased systemic chronic inflammation that is provoked by the interaction of pollutants, such as fine particles, with airway and lung cells. Is this exposure and its consequences a form of accelerated aging? The question of whether one environmental factor or another accelerates aging forces us to consider how aging is defined and measured. Hitting people with hammers repeatedly will certainly increase mortality, and may even increase common measures of biological age, such as epigenetic clocks, but is it producing accelerated aging? One can debate the question, but clearly more biological data would be needed to actually answer […]

Researchers identified GPX4 inhibitor drugs that target a defense mechanism in senescent cells, and which could lead to new treatments for cancer and age-associated diseases. The post Anticancer Strategy Targets Defense Mechanism in Senescent Cells appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

A new therapy has the potential to cure hundreds of diseases — and even reverse aging.

It's part of Customers Bank CEO Sam Sidhu's effort to get ahead in the industry's race to transform itself using AI agents as a new digital workforce

What NASA’s Curiosity Rover found on Mars, how youth suicides dropped after the launch of the 988 crisis line, and what people think of AI voice clones

Researchers here identify a common mechanism in the cellular responses to various forms of stress that appears to drive aspects of hematopoietic stem cell aging via impairment of mitochondrial function. Hematopoietic cells are responsible for generating immune cells and red blood cells. Aging produces alterations in the character and lineages of generated cells, contributing to dysfunction in the immune system and in platelet producing cells, among other issues. Suppressing some aspects of cellular stress responses, those that become maladaptive in the aged tissue environment, may prove to be useful as a basis for therapy. It nonetheless seems a poor alternative to instead repairing or otherwise addressing the forms of damage and dysfunction that provoke these excessive cell stress responses. Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) survive many […]

A host of positive "tipping points" can spark rapid nature recovery, a leading expert says. Action to protect and restore nature must accelerate radically to meet global goals for 2030 and beyond. Writing in the journal Nature Sustainability, Professor Tim Lenton says positive tipping points are key to achieving this.

Essay challenges the scientific validity of the Blue Zones concept and Ancel Keys’ Lipid Hypothesis, arguing that both rest on biased data, weak records, and methodological flaws. The authors say some longevity claims may reflect clerical errors, poverty, and unreliable vital records rather than uniquely healthy lifestyles.

Cole Allen was named as the suspect in a White House shooting incident. Misinformation about his ties to Usha Vance circulated online, sparking public reactions.

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) has named CorEUstem COST Action and Stem Cell COREdinates as the recipients of the 2026 ISSCR Public Service Award.

A study published in Engineering has identified fucosylated immunoglobulin G (IgG) as a key mediator contributing to adipose tissue dysfunction during aging, offering insights into age-related metabolic disorders and potential therapeutic targets.

Fight Aging! publishes news and commentary relevant to the goal of ending all age-related disease, to be achieved by bringing the mechanisms of aging under the control of modern medicine. This weekly newsletter is sent to thousands of interested subscribers. To subscribe to the newsletter, please visit: https://www.fightaging.org/newsletter/. To unsubscribe, send email or reply to this email at newsletter@fightaging.org with "unsubscribe" in the subject or body. Longevity Industry Consulting Services Reason, the founder of Fight Aging! and Repair Biotechnologies, offers strategic consulting services to investors, entrepreneurs, and others interested in the longevity industry and its complexities. To find out more: https://www.fightaging.org/services/ Contents Considering How to Define Animal Models of Intrinsic Capacity in Aging Is Human Life Expectancy Increasing Because Aging is Progressing More Slowly? Metabolic […]

A new research paper was published in Volume 18 of Aging-US on April 7, 2026, titled "Association of epigenetic age acceleration with MRI biomarkers of aging and Alzheimer's disease neurodegeneration."

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) has submitted a formal response to a Request for Information (RFI) issued by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) regarding its pause on new submissions to the NIH Human Embryonic Stem Cell (hESC) Registry and considerations to reduce reliance on hESCs in federally supported research.

Some brains resist Alzheimer's, even when the disease is already present. Researchers at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience have found that this likely depends on how specific brain cells, known as immature neurons, respond to damage caused by the disease.

A major international study involving researchers from The University of Manchester has found that education is one of the strongest predictors of how long people live. Using a new statistical approach to overcome gaps in global data, the research shows that people with more education live significantly longer—even in countries where official records are incomplete. The research is published in the journal Demographic Research.

Preclinical research suggests altering the gut microbiome could someday hinder some signs of aging in people.

A new set of drugs exploit a recently-revealed weakness in 'zombie-like' – or senescent – cells that could lead to new treatments for cancer and age-associated diseases.

A clinical trial to reverse age-related vision conditions using stem cell treatment could finally deliver on the promise of a major discovery in ageing and regeneration made 20 years ago, says columnist Graham Lawton

For years, calling a phone an “iPhone clone” was the quickest way to dismiss it outright. It meant lazy design, cheap hardware, and an experience that fell apart the moment you actually used it. Early copycats earned that reputation. They borrowed the look of Apple’s iPhone, but none of the substance. Bad displays, laggy performance, […]

Michigan and parts of Wisconsin are in the midst of a historic flooding event in spring 2026. Days of heavy rainfall on top of snow have sent lakes and rivers over their banks and threatened several dams in both states, forcing people to evacuate homes downstream. By April 20, 2026, nearly half of Michigan's counties were under a state of emergency. In Cheboygan, Michigan, large pumps were brought in to lower pressure on a century-old dam in the city.

Researchers at Hannover Medical School (MHH) have developed a method for the efficient production of human immune cells, such as macrophages, in medium-sized bioreactors. These immune cells can be derived from induced pluripotent stem cells and are important for disease research and the development of new therapeutic approaches. The method has now been published in the journal Nature Protocols.

Chronic kidney disease is largely age-related, though can occur in younger people under some circumstances. It is one of a number of conditions in which research strongly implicates cellular senescence in its onset, progression, and pathology. Senescent cells accumulate in tissues with age. Cells become senescent throughout life, both on reaching the Hayflick limit to replication and in response to stress or damage. A senescent cell ceases replication, grows in size, and generates pro-inflammatory, pro-growth signaling that attracts the immune system and alters the behavior of surrounding cells. In the short term, this signaling is helpful. In youth, senescent cells are cleared efficiently by the immune system, but in later life this clearance falters allowing senescent cells to accumulate in number. Sustained senescent cell signaling […]

Regenerative therapy is any treatment therapy that improves tissue health or function. With that definition, we can include platelet-rich plasma (PRP), stem cells, and autologous conditioned serum (ACS). The post Regenerative Medicine: Promise, Hype, and What Actually Works appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

Discovering he is getting old before his time, David Cox tries to lower his biological age by changing his diet in a helpful new book, The Age Code, says Graham Lawton

A new meeting report was published in Volume 18 of Aging-US on April 6, 2026, titled "Toward actionable interventions in human aging (12th ARDD meeting, 2025)."

The Gompertz law is a relatively simple equation that describes the exponentially increasing mortality rates observed in an aging population. One fits the equation to existing epidemiological data by adjusting the value of two parameters, α and β. Researchers here use the results of age-slowing interventions in large populations of nematode worms to assign physical, biological meanings to the changes in α and β produced by the treatment of aging. As the researchers describe here, β is related to length of time spent in poor health in later life, while α is related to length of time spent in good health in earlier life. In populations of many animal species, including humans, mortality rates increase exponentially with advancing age. The scale and rate of increase […]

The budding field is turning dreams into reality for older adults who are eager to age in place, filling caregiving gaps and easing minds as America ages rapidly.

The budding field is turning dreams into reality for older adults who are eager to age in place, filling caregiving gaps and easing minds as America ages rapidly.

For the first time, a stem cell model has produced a structure resembling an early human embryo with a yolk-sac-like structure, from a single starting stem cell population and without direct genetic manipulation.

Human life expectancy has increased steadily over time since the 1800s, but much of the analysis is focused on life expectancy at birth, where the dominant effects involve improvements in early life survival. More interesting are the measures of remaining life expectancy at some adult age. These measures also increase over time, but more slowly. In recent decades, the increase in life expectancy at age 65 has increased at a pace that is on the order of one year in every ten. Since this happened over a span of time in which little to no meaningful progress was made in deliberately treating aging as a medical condition, it is reasonable to ask how it happened. As is usual in matters of human epidemiology, firm answers […]

NICE has recommended zanidatamab for HER2-positive biliary tract cancer in final draft guidance, offering patients more time and better quality of life.

​There may be some truth to the saying "the eyes are the window to the soul." Age-related changes are reflected in the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye.

The aging and longevity of flies is very dependent on intestinal function. The noted longevity-associated gene INDY acts on intestinal function, for example. Here, researchers report on their investigation of the role of the gut microbiome in INDY-related longevity in flies. As might be expected given the present state of knowledge of the role of the gut microbe in long-term health and aging, there are signs of a contribution. These results are only a first step, however; the gut microbiome is a complex array of different microbial species, and there is a great deal more that might be catalogued in terms of its relationship to genetic associations with longevity in this species. Reduction in the Indy (I'm not dead yet) gene, a plasma membrane citrate […]

King Charles commemorates Queen Elizabeth II's 100th birthday with a heartfelt tribute, reflecting on her legacy and expressing how today's world might have troubled her.

Nestlé and NTU Singapore today announced a multi‑year joint research partnership to advance the scientific understanding of how nutrition supports healthy longevity and women's health.

For the first time, a stem cell model has produced a structure resembling an early human embryo with a yolk-sac-like structure, from a single starting stem cell population and without direct genetic manipulation. The models were made at University of Michigan Engineering. Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences provided monkey embryo data to help confirm that the Michigan team was indeed seeing a yolk-sac-like structure in their models. The work is published in the journal Nature Cell Biology.

The World Health Organization (WHO) launched intrinsic capacity into the space of ideas relating to the study of aging a decade ago; it is defined as "the composite of all the physical and mental capacities that an individual can draw on." At a more detailed level, intrinsic capacity is envisaged as the sum of motor capacity, sensory capacity, general vitality, psychological wellness, and cognition capacity. What the WHO authors did not specify is how to measure any of this, specifically and in detail. Putting a fuzzy definition in front of the scientific community is like dangling catnip in front of a bunch of cats, and so now there exist a fair number of proposed approaches for measuring intrinsic capacity that are accompanied by published epidemiological […]

A major study presented today at ESCMID Global 2026 has found that antiretroviral therapy (ART) reduces accelerated biological ageing in people with HIV (PWH) by nearly four years, a finding that could transform how clinicians monitor HIV treatment and long-term health outcomes.

“Cocaine hippos,” underground bees, and fresh insights into aging and heart health

A new research paper was published in Volume 18 of Aging-US on April 3, 2026, titled "Modeling premature aging in yeast via the expression of Progerin."

Fight Aging! publishes news and commentary relevant to the goal of ending all age-related disease, to be achieved by bringing the mechanisms of aging under the control of modern medicine. This weekly newsletter is sent to thousands of interested subscribers. To subscribe to the newsletter, please visit: https://www.fightaging.org/newsletter/. To unsubscribe, send email or reply to this email at newsletter@fightaging.org with "unsubscribe" in the subject or body. Longevity Industry Consulting Services Reason, the founder of Fight Aging! and Repair Biotechnologies, offers strategic consulting services to investors, entrepreneurs, and others interested in the longevity industry and its complexities. To find out more: https://www.fightaging.org/services/ Contents Evidence for Retrotransposon Suppression to Reduce Biological Age in Humans Reversing Some Age-Related Changes via Creation of DNA Gaps with the Box A […]

A new study published today in Stem Cell Reports demonstrates how a human stem cell-derived model of the intestine can be used to identify potential therapies for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), highlighting glycyrrhizin as a promising candidate for reducing intestinal inflammation and cell death.

Fewer than 10 people worldwide have eradicated the virus with stem cells. But this case was special—no one knew his brother's cells carried a protective mutation until transplant day. The post Norwegian Man Cured of HIV by His Brother’s Stem Cells appeared first on SingularityHub.

The National Institute on Aging's Interventions Testing Program (ITP) is the full stop at the end of many a debate over the merits of development of one substance or another as a hoped for treatment to modestly slow aging. The ITP uses a very large number of mice and considerable rigor to assess effects on life span. The program typically focuses on small molecules and supplements that have prior evidence for anti-aging effects, and usually those with a long history in the literature. Given the number of compounds that show no effect on life span in the hands of the ITP, this initiative serves as a reminder that any one study in a hundred mice that demonstrates modest slowing of aging does not in fact […]

One of the major projects within the study of comparative biology is the attempt to understand why adult individuals of some species can fully regenerate lost tissues following injury, while mammals such as our own species cannot. A variety of modest inroads into identifying potentially important differences in cellular biochemistry and activity have been made, such as work focused on senescent cells and macrophages, but it remains an unsolved challenge. Researchers here present more data to add to that already under consideration, focused on the role of oxygen sensing in the initial response to injury. It is unclear as to whether it can lead to dramatic improvements in mammalian regeneration, but the work suggests that regeneration could be improved via manipulation of oxygen sensing in […]

Humans, and most other mammals, exhibit a common set of differences between males and females in the trajectory of aging and age-related disease. Females live longer, but with greater disability, for example. Dive deeper to look at the fine details of specific tissues and biological systems, and the list of differences expands. Researchers here report on their assessment of differences between men and women in the aging of the immune system, for example. While interesting, it isn't clear that differences in the progression of aging will be all that important in a future of effective rejuvenation therapies. It is certainly possible that any given narrow approach to rejuvenation that targets just one mechanism of aging will prove to be more or less effective to some […]

Scientists have discovered that a protein linked to cell death is secretly driving the aging of blood stem cells in a completely different way. Instead of killing the cells, it damages their mitochondria, sapping their energy and weakening the immune system over time. When this protein was turned off, stem cells remained stronger and more balanced, even under stress. The findings point to a new strategy for slowing aging at its source.

A new gene‑editing strategy programs hematopoietic stem cells to produce therapeutic antibodies and other proteins. The approach generates long‑lasting immunity in mice and could point to single‑vaccine treatments for diverse diseases in the future. The post Stem Cell Editing Programs the Immune System to Make Own Therapeutic Proteins appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

Cells have evolved responses to stress that enhance the chance of survival. Many of these responses converge of increased activity of maintenance processes, more recycling of materials, less protein synthesis, and a number of other common mechanisms. Researchers have found that mild stress of near any sort imposed upon a living organism will provoke a net gain in cell function and resilience, which in turn acts to modestly slow progression of the complicated cascade of accumulating damage and dysfunction that we call aging. The bounds of the possible are illustrated by the response to the nutrient stress, induced by fasting or calorie restriction. Short-lived mammalian species such as mice can live as much as 40% longer in response to a restricted but still sufficient nutrient […]

Researchers developed an improved method for creating insulin-producing cells from human stem cells, which effectively regulated blood sugar levels in laboratory tests and reversed diabetes in a mouse model. The post Advances in Stem Cell‑Derived Insulin‑Producing Cells for Type 1 Diabetes appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

UCLA researchers have identified a rogue population of immune cells that quietly accumulates in aging tissues and in the livers of people with fatty liver disease. Clearing these cells, they found, dramatically reduced inflammation and reversed liver damage in mice - even while the animals remained on an unhealthy diet.

As we age, our ability to maintain healthy blood and a strong immune system gradually declines, largely because hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), the cells responsible for producing all blood cell types, begin to lose their effectiveness. Normally, HSCs can both self-renew and generate a balanced mix of blood cells, but over time they produce fewer new cells, favor certain cells such as myeloid cells over lymphoid cells, and struggle to support a robust immune response.

IGF-1 signaling is perhaps the most well studied mechanism of aging, with extensive work predating the modern enthusiasm for treating aging as a medical condition. Investigation of IGF-1 signaling in the context of aging was a fellow traveler to investigations of calorie restriction in the context of aging, and while these are roads that lead to a greater understanding of the evolution of aging and how pace of aging adapts to environmental circumstances, and have given rise to classes of drugs that may modestly slow aging, they are not likely to lead to any meaningful class of rejuvenation therapy. From a purely scientific point of view, the incomplete state of understanding of cellular biochemistry means that there is a lot left to learn on the […]

Feedback discovers that a conspiracy theory has formed that various celebrities have been replaced by clones, and sees just a few small problems with the idea

Viral clip sparks 'Lady Gaga clone' claims online as viewers question a mysterious double seen in footage circulating across social media.

The tau protein is involved in maintaining stability of microtubule structures in the axons that connect neurons. It isn't the only protein that undertakes this task, and loss of functional tau doesn't produce immediate issues. Tau is important in some functions of memory, however, and mice lacking tau exhibit a range of cognitive defects that grow with age. Tau is well studied not for these aspects of its function, but because it is one of the few proteins that can be altered in a way that allows it to form solid aggregates that are disruptive to cell function. Tau aggregation to form the structures known as neurofibrillary tangles is a feature of late stage Alzheimer's disease. The consensus view of this stage of the condition […]

Dysfunction in the cells making up the inner lining of blood vessels, the vascular endothelium, is thought to be an important first step in the aging of the vasculature more generally, setting the stage for the development of atherosclerotic lesions, a declining capacity of smooth muscle to contract and dilate vessels in order to control blood pressure, and leakage of the blood-brain barrier, among other issues. Researchers here review the contribution of two important aspects of cellular aging to the aging of the vascular endothelium; firstly the growing number of senescent cells, and secondly the decline in mitochondrial function. These are connected, as mitochondrial dysfunction is considered to contribute to an increased pace at which cells become senescent. The vascular endothelium performs numerous regulatory functions […]

Picture this: your brain is a high-performance engine. Over decades, it doesn't just wear down, it also starts to run hot. Tiny "fires" of inflammation smolder deep within the brain's memory center, creating a persistent brain fog that makes it harder to think, form new memories or even adapt to new environments, all the while increasing the risk to disorders like Alzheimer's disease.

A reported AI version of Mark Zuckerberg at Meta could interact with employees, give feedback, reflect his leadership style, and potentially act as a digital extension of management inside the company.

The burden of lingering senescent cells grows with age in tissues throughout the body. Cells enter the senescent state constantly, but the pace of clearance of senescent cells by the immune system falters with advancing age. Senescent cells secrete a mix of pro-inflammatory, pro-growth signals that are disruptive to tissue structure and function when sustained for the long term. Analysis of circulating molecules in a blood sample can in principle be used to measure the body-wide burden of senescent cells, though no strong consensus approach has emerged yet from the various methods demonstrated in recent years. Here, find another contender for that consensus approach, where researchers use proteomic assessment of blood samples to build a score based on the strength of senescent cell signaling, and […]

Researchers have found that immunological aging follows different dynamics between men and women, which are associated with changes in immune cell composition and function between the sexes, and with susceptibility to different diseases. The post Sex-Related Differences in Immune System Aging May Impact Disease Susceptibility appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

A man known as the "Oslo patient" joins a short list of people in long-term remission from HIV following bone marrow transplants.

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal malignancy of the female reproductive system. Due to its insidious early symptoms and the absence of specific screening modalities, approximately 70% of patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage.

There are apparently a great many people who at least intermittently use psilocybin. Interestingly, regular dosing with psilocybin has been shown to modestly extend life in mice, but it is likely that only a subset of human users approach the frequency of dosing used in the mouse studies. Finding those humans is ever the challenge, particularly if one wants to study long-term effects on aging. Here, a researcher takes an initial stab at comparing the longevity of psilocybin users with non-users based on publicly available information, but the sample size is so small that it isn't surprising to see a lack of useful results. The study is more interesting as a way to provoke (a) awareness of the evidence for psilocybin to interact with mechanisms […]

A burgeoning field is launching its first clinical trial to find out whether dialing back cell development can safely refresh aged tissues and organs