Category Archives: Human Longevity

Agingis a complex biological process regulated by multiple intrinsic and extrinsic factors such as genetics, epigenetics, environment, lifestyle, and immune response. Aging is often defined as an age-related deterioration of physiological and cognitive functions necessary for survival and reproduction.

During aging, the brain undergoes various morphological, cellular, molecular, and functional changes leading to the occurrence of age-related cognitive decline. Healthy elderly people showsignificant decreases in brain volumeand experience mild cognitive impairment (i.e. working memory & executive function) compared with younger adults. In patients with Alzheimers disease or other types of age-related dementia, thecognitive impairmentis significantly more severe affecting daily life activities and requiring medical/professional assistance.

The idea of aging is something that is commonly feared by many, but what if it didnt hurt to grow old? Imagine living independently longer. Less severe dementia. Later onset of cancer. Healthier heart and kidneys for longer. Klotho, a natural human protein has great potential to delay these diseases of aging. Loss of cognition, kidney failure, diabetes, and cancer are all things that are believed to be associated with the bodys production of this Klotho protein. Klotho Therapeutics (KTI) is using biotechnology to mimic the human protein.

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Klotho Protein for Longevity - Delay Dementia, Kidney Disease & Cancer

A new study looking at creatures such as tortoises and turtles has found that theyhave biological mechanisms that slow down or even completely switch offageing, which may indicate a way to extend human longevity.

As reported by The Independent,the research, published in thejournalScienceon Thursday, looked at signs of senescence the gradual process of deterioration of physical and functional characteristics among tortoises and turtles living in zoos and aquariums.

The international team of scientistsfound that the pattern of ageing in these cold-blooded creatures does not resemble that seen in humans or other animals.

Most of the studied creatures aged slower, and in some cases, their senescence is negligible, scientists said.

Creatures that were studied included77 cold-blooded species from 107 wild populations, including turtles, amphibians, snakes, crocodilians and tortoises.

Species of tortoise were found to have less senescence (Canva)

Of the 52 species analysed in the study, scientists said three-fourths of them showed extremely slow senescence, while 80%appeared to have slower ageing than modern humans.

Some of the species have the ability to reduce their rate of ageing in response to the improved living conditions in zoos and aquariums, compared to the wild, scientists say.

Theories around senescence suggest that it begins after sexual maturity, where it invests more energy in reproduction than in repairing cells and tissue.

Due to this tradeoff, researchers have held that after reaching sexual maturity, individuals inevitably stop growing and start experiencing senescence a prediction that has been confirmed for several species, particularly mammals and birds.

Turtles and tortoises, and other organisms that keep growing after sexual maturity, could have the ability to keep investing in repairing cellular damages - which then avoid the effects of senescence.

Although humans have witnessed unprecedented increases in longevity in the last century, scientists say improved living conditions does not modify the rate of ageing in humans and other primates.

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The slow ageing of tortoises could unlock secrets to human longevity, says study - HeraldScotland

Longevity Investors Conference (LIC) returns for its third annual edition from Sept. 2830 in Gstaad, Switzerland.

The conference attracts the worlds top longevity leaders, institutional and private investors, wealthy private investors and family offices and funds in an exclusive setting. For two days, opinion leaders and high-ranking representatives will exchange their knowledge about longevity, trends, attractive investments and business opportunities in the longevity space. The conference will ensure a private atmosphere and the opportunity to establish partnerships with other business leaders and investment opportunities in a unique setting at Le Grand Bellevue, a five-star hotel in Gstaad and one of the most exclusive Swiss mountain resorts.

The LIC has the honor of welcoming leading longevity experts and scientists, such as Harvard Medical School genetics professor George Church, SENS Research Foundation chief of science offices Aubrey de Grey, Buck Institute for Research on Ageing president and CEO Eric Verdin, Institute for Ageing Research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine director Nir Barzilai, Forever Healthy Foundation founder Michael Greve, Human Longevity Inc. associate professor, internal medicine specialist and longevity physician Evelyne Yehudit Bischof, Insilico Medicine founder and CEO Alex Zhavoronkov, First Longevity founder and Longevity.Technology editor-in-chief Phil Newman, and Wei-Wu He, Human Longevity Inc. executive chairman, Casi Pharmaceuticals Inc. CEO and chairman, and Genetron Health founder and chairman.

More speakers will be announced closer to the conference.

LIC was initiated by Tobias Reichmuth and Marc Bernegger, two successful serial entrepreneurs who, among others, launched CfC St. Moritz, one of the most exclusive conferences for digital assets.

Keynote speeches, fireside chats, panel discussions and breakout sessions on topics including biotech, aging technology, diagnostics, AI, health prevention, longevity therapy and investment strategy await the attendees of the 2022 conference.

The conference is in the Bellevue Hotel in Gstaad, recently rated Hotel of the Year by the Swiss media. The hotel will be privatized for LICs guests, ensuring an exclusive networking experience. Some of the conferences partners include PricewaterhouseCoopers, Credit Suisse, Maximn, Korify Capital, Apollo Health Ventures, Clinique La Prairie, Biolytica AG, Avea Solutions and many more.

The unique event format combines rich content and insight-sharing during the day, with numerous opportunities to recharge and network at the lunches, evening receptions, dinners and longevity experiences occurring during the course of the two-day conference.

There are more and more traditional investors joining the longevity space, which creates massive investment opportunities. The special setup of this years conference enables not only knowledge exchange but also effective community-building, which is very unique for the industry and has never happened before to this extent, said Marc Bernegger, one of the driving forces behind the conference.

Tobias Reichmuth, co-founder of LIC and Berneggers partner, said, The longevity industry will be one of the biggest investment opportunities during the next decade expected to be worth at least $600 billion by 2025. It is experiencing great momentum, and this is the ideal time to use it in favor of educating and spreading information to investors. In a sea of science-oriented conferences, a professional and global investor-focused longevity conference such as LIC will provide an opportunity for the industrys top investors and innovators to get acquainted with recent developments and breakthroughs.

Early bird tickets are available until the end of June on the site.

Link:
Longevity Investors Conference to be held in Gstaad, Switzerland Sept. 2830 - Cointelegraph

Berlin/Germany, June 23, 2022 TheRejuvenation Startup Summit(Berlin, Oct. 14-15, 2022) is a vibrant networking event that brings together startups and members of the longevity venture capital/investor ecosystem all aiming to create therapies to vastly extend the healthy human lifespan. Rejuvenation/Longevity biotech is a new, emerging field of medicine. It aims to prevent and reverse diseases of aging by addressing their common root cause, the aging process itself.

In addition to an exciting range of presentations from CEOs of startups in the field of rejuvenation/longevity, the summit features an all-day startup forum for vibrant networking. Starting midday on Friday and finishing off on Saturday night with a big party, it offers ample opportunity to get in touch, learn and network with some of the most promising companies in the field like:

Investors may explore concrete investment opportunities, or if new to the field, get jumpstarted on the upcoming new megatrend Rejuvenation/Longevity a still young industry that will eventually become much bigger than todays largest technology markets.

Early Bird pricing for theRejuvenation Startup Summit (Oct 14-15) ticketsstays effective till Thursday, 21 of July, 12:00 pm CET (03:00 am Pacific).

The Rejuvenation Startup Summit (Berlin, Oct. 14-15, 2022) hosted by the Forever Healthy Foundation, is a vibrant networking event that aims to accelerate the development of the rejuvenation biotech industry.

Rejuvenation/Longevity biotech is a new, emerging field of medicine. It aims to prevent and reverse diseases of aging by addressing their common root cause, the aging process itself.Rejuvenation therapies aim to reverse or repair age-related cellular changes such as molecular waste, calcification, tissue stiffening, loss of stem cell function, genetic alterations, and impaired energy production.

The Summit brings together startups, members of the longevity venture capital / investor ecosystem, and researchers interested in founding or joining a startup all aiming to create therapies to vastly extend the healthy human lifespan.

Further information can be found atwww.forever-healthy.org/summit.

Frank Schueler, Chief Operating Officer

[emailprotected]

Excerpt from:
The Rejuvenation Startup Summit Speakers - Lifespan.io News

Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Ageing of the immune system is becoming a matter of concern, more so, amid the pandemic. But what does immune ageing even mean? Is that a concern for just the researchers or us too? For answers to these and more, experts explain it all to CE. Dr G Navodaya, consultant, general medicine, Care Hospitals, Banjara Hills, feels that immune ageing has a wider perspective and says, Immune ageing is a phenomenon that occurs in any patient who is ageing, so this is not specific to immunity.

The human body has many cells with unique responsibilities. Some keep the person alive, others build muscle structure, and some maintain the functions of the body, etc. Now, every cell has a basic function and age and after a certain function and time, the cells die. Immunity ageing is the same if a person is ageing, meaning, growing older, they are likely to see physical changes in and outside the body. Similarly, cell functions start to reduce inside the body, eventually. Cells that maintain our immunity to help fight infections too meet the same fate.

So what does this mean for us? He responds, Immunity is maintained so as to protect us from infections. But when these cells have less strength then the human body is prone to infections. He adds that immune ageing happens not just when one turns older but the process is fastened if habits like smoking and drug intake grow.

Dr Jagadeesh Kumar V, consultant physician at KIMS Hospital, Secunderabad, says that when one bears the brunt of too many infections, the immune cells in the body take a hit. The advent of Covid has worsened this fear. Immune ageing, which is otherwise called inflammaging, points that inflammation in our body is growing or ageing. Every time a body undergoes inflammation or infection, peoples immunity ages. The cells lose their functional capacity once a person is infected, says he.

Talking about the aftermath of this, he says, people become obese, theyre vulnerable to infection, their cognition declines (memory comes down), comprehensive capacity and capability come down, etc. On a concluding note he adds that stress too, is a catalyst for immune ageing. Lack of sleep, unhealthy lifestyle lead to stress, which is making many prone to immune ageing and thus, to many diseases, he cautions.

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Your immunity has a life span - The New Indian Express

Abdulla Shahid, President of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has urged communities across the globe to protect the ocean and ensure its health and longevity.

He said this in his remarks at the opening ceremony of the 2022 UN Oceans Conference on Monday, where he spoke extensively on the concrete, demonstrable action required to underscore the commitment to save the ocean, to protect it against the threats - both human-driven and otherwise - that would take it away from us.

The PGA noted that the ocean being an essential part of life on this planet is an inescapable reality for him as a person and as a Maldivian, adding that for small islanders, coastal residents, workers dependent on tourism and coral reefs, fisherpersons and for all those who turn to the ocean for livelihood, for reprieve, and for enjoyment, this reality rings true.

I am a Maldivian. Whether I am here as President of the General Assembly or not, the ocean is in my blood; it runs through my lifes narrative, from childhood to parenthood; from my career in the Foreign Service to my Parliamentary experience, to what I represent today. I am from a large ocean State. I am a child of the ocean.

Abdulla Shahid, PGA.

Highlighting that beyond those who look to the blue horizon each day, the entirety of humanity relies upon the ocean for half of the oxygen that people intake, the PGA said that the ocean connects communities across the globe.

He added that the ocean connects humanity and the planet, adding that there is no context communities across the globe can live without it.

Stressing that the ocean conference came at a critical and timely opportunity, Shahid noted that on one hand the ocean faces countless threats from climate change to plastic pollution and from over-fishing to acidification and that on the other hand there is momentum.

In this regard, on Friday, we will adopt a declaration, that will give direction and set the tone for our future work. I was pleased to reappoint the Permanent Representative of Grenada, Ms. Keisha McGuire, and Permanent Representative of Denmark Mr. Martin Hermann, for this task. And I commend them and their experts Nerissa Williams and Mira Bergem, for delivering! And thank all Member States for their commitment.

Abdulla Shahid, PGA.

PGA Shahid stated that the 40th anniversary of the UN Convention on Law of the Sea has reiterated the shared responsibility for the ocean, adding that recent efforts such as the landmark agreement on ending plastic pollution and the new World Trade Organization deal on fisheries subsidies, gives cause for hope.

Further, Shahid said that there is optimism towards an international legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.

He noted that solid partnerships across all stakeholders are being established and strengthened, as observed at the Our Ocean Conference in Palau earlier this year.

With this being said, he highlighted how there is a strong foundation to build upon and how the ocean conference can set the tone for what needs to be done.

PGA Shahid urged the global communities to not fall prey to shortsightedness or lack of ambition, to invest in, trust in, and act upon science.

Shahid, who also serves as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Maldives, also urged the people to protect the ocean, leverage its power, relish its beauty, cherish its diversity and ensure its health and longevity in order to save it.

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PGA urges to protect the ocean, ensure its health and longevity - Raajjemv

The market for wearable technology has grown a lot in the last ten years, with fitness and health tracking features being the main USP of most such devices in the market.

Googles 2021 acquisition of Fitbit for over $2 billion was their entry into the wearables market. Since then, the Pixel Watch has also entered the ring, with revolutionary new features.

Aside from the basic features like counting steps taken or calories burned, there are also new technologies being introduced like a sensor that can detect irregularities in the wearers pulse.

This sensor has recently received FDA approval, The Economist reports. Googles Pixel phone cameras can detect heart blood oxygen levels using image processing and their smart home devices can monitor sleep patterns by listening to snoring.

Apple is another strong player in this arena, with their whole arsenal of fitness and health tracking features on the Apple Watch and iPhone.

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Big Tech Dives into Healthcare With Google Parent Alphabet at the Forefront - The Quint

image:The ARDD Meeting 2022 will be hosted on August 29 - September 2, 2022 view more

Credit: Insilico Medicine Hong Kong Limited

May 30, 2022 -- Ian David Hickson, Ph.D., will present the latest research on the topic Chromosome instability as a driver of human disease at the world's largest annual Aging Research and Drug Discovery conference (9th ARDD). Dr. Hickson is the Director at the Center for Chromosome Stability, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, the University of Copenhagen.

Research in the Hickson laboratory has deciphered mechanisms for how genome instability can drive cancer development and has led to the development of novel therapeutic strategies to target difficult-to-treat cancers. While working in the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, he focused on the cancer predisposition disorder, Blooms syndrome, using it as a model to define the molecular basis of tumorigenesis.

After moving to the University of Copenhagen, amongst many discoveries, he identified a pathway named MiDAS, which questioned the long-held view that genome duplication can only take place in S-phase by revealing that DNA synthesis occurs in mitosis following replication stress. These findings have opened new therapeutic avenues for targeting cancer. In 2013/14, he received both an ERC Advanced Grant and a Center of Excellence grant from Danmarks Grundforskningsfond to establish the Center for Chromosome Stability (CCS). His record of achievement has been recognized by his election to prestigious learned societies, including The Academy of Medical Sciences (UK), E.M.B.O. and The Royal Society (UK).

The conference proceedings of the ARDD are commonly published in peer-reviewed journals with the talks openly available at http://www.agingpharma.org. Please review the conference proceedings for 2019, 2020 and 2021https://www.aging-us.com/article/203859/text .

Aging is emerging as a druggable condition with multiple pharmaceuticals able to alter the pace of aging in model organisms. The ARDD brings together all levels of the field to discuss the most pressing obstacles in our attempt to find efficacious interventions and molecules to target aging. The 2022 conference is the best yet with top level speakers from around the globe. Im extremely excited to be able to meet them in person at the University of Copenhagen in late summer. said Morten Scheibye-Knudsen, MD, Ph.D., University of Copenhagen.

Aging research is growing faster than ever on both academia and industry fronts. The ARDD meeting unites experts from different fields and backgrounds, sharing with us their latest groundbreaking research and developments. Our last ARDD meeting took place both offline and online, and it was a great success. I am particularly excited that being a part of the ARDD2022 meeting will provide an amazing opportunity for young scientists presenting their own work as well as meeting the experts in the field. said Daniela Bakula, Ph.D., University of Copenhagen.

Many credible biopharmaceutical companies are now prioritized aging research for early-stage discovery or therapeutic pipeline development. It is only logical to prioritize therapeutic targets that are important in both aging and age-associated diseases. The patient benefits either way. The best place to learn about these targets is ARDD, which we organize for nine years in a row. This conference is now the largest in the field and is not to be missed, said Alex Zhavoronkov, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine and Deep Longevity.

Building on the success of the ARDD conferences, the organizers developed the Longevity Medicine course series with some of the courses offered free of charge at Longevity.Degree covered in the recent Lanced Healthy Longevity paper titled Longevity medicine: upskilling the physicians of tomorrow.

About Aging Research for Drug Discovery Conference

At ARDD, leaders in the aging, longevity, and drug discovery field will describe the latest progress in the molecular, cellular and organismal basis of aging and the search for interventions. Furthermore, the meeting will include opinion leaders in AI to discuss the latest advances of this technology in the biopharmaceutical sector and how this can be applied to interventions. Notably, this year we are expanding with a workshop specifically for physicians where the leading-edge knowledge of clinical interventions for healthy longevity will be described. ARRD intends to bridge clinical, academic and commercial research and foster collaborations that will result in practical solutions to one of humanity's most challenging problems: aging. Our quest? To extend the healthy lifespan of everyone on the planet.

About Scheibye-Knudsen Lab

In the Scheibye-Knudsen lab we use in silico, in vitro and in vivo models to understand the cellular and organismal consequences of DNA damage with the aim of developing interventions. We have discovered that DNA damage leads to changes in certain metabolites and that replenishment of these molecules may alter the rate of aging in model organisms. These findings suggest that normal aging and age-associated diseases may be malleable to similar interventions. The hope is to develop interventions that will allow everyone to live healthier, happier and more productive lives.

About Deep Longevity

Deep Longevity has been acquired by Edurance RP (SEHK:0575.HK), a publicly-traded company. Deep Longevity is developing explainable artificial intelligence systems to track the rate of aging at the molecular, cellular, tissue, organ, system, physiological, and psychological levels. It is also developing systems for the emerging field of longevity medicine enabling physicians to make better decisions on the interventions that may slow down, or reverse the aging processes. Deep Longevity developed Longevity as a Service (LaaS) solution to integrate multiple deep biomarkers of aging dubbed "deep aging clocks" to provide a universal multifactorial measure of human biological age. Originally incubated by Insilico Medicine, Deep Longevity started its independent journey in 2020 after securing a round of funding from the most credible venture capitalists specializing in biotechnology, longevity, and artificial intelligence. ETP Ventures, Human Longevity and Performance Impact Venture Fund, BOLD Capital Partners, Longevity Vision Fund, LongeVC, co-founder of Oculus, Michael Antonov, and other expert AI and biotechnology investors supported the company. Deep Longevity established a research partnership with one of the most prominent longevity organizations, Human Longevity, Inc. to provide a range of aging clocks to the network of advanced physicians and researchers. https://longevity.ai/

About Endurance RP (SEHK:0575.HK)

Endurance RP is a diversified investment group based in Hong Kong currently holding various corporate and strategic investments focusing on the healthcare, wellness and life sciences sectors. The Group has a strong track record of investments and has returned approximately US$298 million to shareholders in the 21 years of financial reporting since its initial public offering. https://www.endurancerp.com/

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

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Ian David Hickson to present at the 9th Aging Research & Drug Discovery Meeting 2022 - EurekAlert

Age-related changes and illnesses have been associated with genetics, the proteome, diet and even gut bacteria. Longevity research focuses on understanding the biological processes behind how we age, with the aim ofdelaying or preventing age-related disease.

Cutting-edge research and innovation can require large monetary investment to carry projects from concept to practice. To find out more about how early-stage funding could improve longevity research, Technology Networks spoke to Garri Zmudze, executive director of the Longevity Science Foundation, a non-profit organization looking to fund a longer and healthier human lifespan by supporting longevity research.

Katie Brighton (KB): Could you highlight what the aims of the Longevity Science Foundation are?

Garri Zmudze (GZ): The mission of the Longevity Science Foundation (LSF) is to fund projects working toward a longer and healthier human lifespan. By funding research and development of medical technologies at their earliest stages, we can help extend the healthy human lifespan.

Unlike venture capital or traditional investments, there is no exchange of equity or intellectual property needed to receive funding. In other words, there are no investors putting pressure on researchers just financial support that weve gathered from global donors. Our goal is to distribute 1 billion U.S. dollars over the next 10 years in non-dilutive project funding. In March, we announced our first funding call on projects related to aging clocks and are currently reviewing submitted proposals.

We are a non-profit organization recognized in the US and Switzerland. All LSF donors receive voting rights for the foundations funding decisions. At certain contribution levels, donors can unlock perks like access to longevity events, networking opportunities, NFT drops and more.

KB: What are the main roles of early-stage funding for companies as they embark into cutting-edge research?

GZ: Genuinely cutting-edge innovation at the laboratory or research stage often requires significant funding just to get started. Finding this funding is a big challenge for researchers from smaller institutions. Foundational grants like those from the LSF can offer much-needed support for the high upfront fees associated with such research.

The longevity sector is still seen as far-fetched by parts of the science world. While more established than longevity, biotech investing is still consistently called risky by investors and venture capital firms. We provide funding for projects and research that we believe will change the future of our lives but would traditionally be passed over by other funding groups.

A key ingredient to providing the longevity space with a qualitative push is to fund early-stage research, which can support projects to the stage of being differentiable as a potential therapy or product and, thus, be eligible for venture funding. By increasing the number of such cases, you are ultimately stimulating the risk capital inflow in the industry, as well as multiplying the amount of early-stage ventures on route to their clinical validation.

Weve seen a successful instance of this with the company Insilico Medicine, which is working to develop new drugs using artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Insilico Medicines founding team received pre-seed funding that allowed them to establish research trajectories and build the technology needed to achieve success. Having recently achieved unicorn status (as a privately owned startup valued at over 1 billion US dollars), Insilico Medicine now has the first-ever AI-developed drug in human trials. This is a tremendous example of how early funding can help bring ideas in the longevity space from concept to practice.

KB: What do you think the main barriers are to making the longevity research sector more accepted by researchers? Does the LSF have a plan to combat these?

GZ: We believe that the main barrier to mainstream acceptance is the lack of transparent, equity-free funding for early-stage longevity research, which is not yet eligible for venture funding, yet needs capital to define a distinguishable therapy or product to work on. By providing funding to these early-stage ventures, we empower researchers and founders to bring their projects to a point where they can publish findings, launch trials and offer treatments to the general population.

Other barriers also include general confusion about what longevity research means. There are a lot of claims from popular media sources that certain foods, diets or exercises will magically add years to ones life. While lifestyle changes can promote healthy aging, longevity is nuanced and there is no silver bullet that will allow humanity as a whole to live longer. We are trying to make longevity research more accessible by publishing content on what working with a longevity physician looks like in practice and how the definition of longevity has expanded in the past years.

KB: The foundation has announced its first funding call focused on the concept of aging clocks. Can you explain a bit more about what is meant by aging clocks? What impact might research in this area have on the overall field of longevity research?

GZ: Aging clocks refer to tools that individuals and researchers can use to measure their biological age. This can include apps, software and other devices designed specifically to track biological age based on biofeedback and other measurements.

The recent discoveries around aging biomarkers and aging clocks have significantly benefited the longevity sector, helping accelerate the development of diagnostics, treatments and more. Aging clocks are a valuable tool for researchers, as biomarkers can help determine an individuals biological age based on cells, tissues and other body systems. As the sector moves toward a more nuanced understanding of the science around aging clocks, stakeholders will be able to unlock a more comprehensive and holistic assessment of someones health. Aging clocks also facilitate means for researchers to measure the efficacy of anti-aging treatments. They provide a straightforward standard of comparison for measuring whether or not a treatment is making a difference.

KB: What other concepts or topics might the LSF be looking to fund in future?

GZ: Our primary focus areas are therapeutics, predictive diagnostics, personalized medicine and artificial intelligence. Our Visionary Board, which comprises leading longevity researchers and physicians, identified these areas as having the potential to transform longevity medicine in the near future.

We also focus on research and projects that will make a difference within the coming years, with a goal of reaching practice within five years. We believe numerous projects in the longevity space currently entering clinical trials will play an instrumental role in advancing the sector when they reach their next stage.

KB: What do you think the future looks like for the longevity research sector and where does the LSF fit into this?

GZ: I am incredibly excited about the future of the longevity research sector. We have seen tremendous interest in the longevity space in the past year that aligns with discoveries from more than two decades ago. The key turning point for the longevity field was the discovery of aging as a biological process. Since then, researchers have been conducting studies and publishing reports on what this means in practice.

Some of these findings are gaining significant traction and reaching human trial stages, which is likely why more people have recently been interested in the field. Of course, with more researchers paying attention to anti-aging, there is a higher probability of having treatments ready for human trials and market entry. The foundation will play an instrumental role in bringing these research findings out of the laboratory and into public use, helping society move closer to reliable anti-aging options.

While there may never be a definitive cure for aging as some people might desire, we believe current findings have the potential to transform what aging looks like in our lifetimes. The Longevity Science Foundation will provide the funding needed to bring us closer to anti-aging treatments and a renewed perspective on the trajectory of our lifespans.

Garri Zmudze was speaking to Katie Brighton, Scientific Copywriter for Technology Networks.

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The Impact of Funding on Longevity Research - Technology Networks

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN

(CNN) -- In molecular biologist David Sinclair's lab at Harvard Medical School, old mice are growing young again.

Using proteins that can turn an adult cell into a stem cell, Sinclair and his team have reset aging cells in mice to earlier versions of themselves. In his team's first breakthrough, published in late 2020, old mice with poor eyesight and damaged retinas could suddenly see again, with vision that at times rivaled their offspring's.

"It's a permanent reset, as far as we can tell, and we think it may be a universal process that could be applied across the body to reset our age," said Sinclair, who has spent the last 20 years studying ways to reverse the ravages of time.

"If we reverse aging, these diseases should not happen. We have the technology today to be able to go into your hundreds without worrying about getting cancer in your 70s, heart disease in your 80s and Alzheimer's in your 90s." Sinclair told an audience at Life Itself, a health and wellness event presented in partnership with CNN.

"This is the world that is coming. It's literally a question of when and for most of us, it's going to happen in our lifetimes," Sinclair told the audience.

"His research shows you can change aging to make lives younger for longer. Now he wants to change the world and make aging a disease," said Whitney Casey, an investor who is partnering with Sinclair to create a do-it-yourself biological age test.

While modern medicine addresses sickness, it doesn't address the underlying cause, "which for most diseases, is aging itself," Sinclair said. "We know that when we reverse the age of an organ like the brain in a mouse, the diseases of aging then go away. Memory comes back; there is no more dementia.

"I believe that in the future, delaying and reversing aging will be the best way to treat the diseases that plague most of us."

In Sinclair's lab, two mice sit side by side. One is the picture of youth, the other gray and feeble. Yet they are brother and sister, born from the same litter -- only one has been genetically altered to age faster.

If that could be done, Sinclair asked his team, could the reverse be accomplished as well? Japanese biomedical researcher Dr. Shinya Yamanaka had already reprogrammed human adult skin cells to behave like embryonic or pluripotent stem cells, capable of developing into any cell in the body. The 2007 discovery won the scientist a Nobel Prize, and his "induced pluripotent stem cells," soon became known as "Yamanaka factors."

However, adult cells fully switched back to stem cells via Yamanaka factors lose their identity. They forget they are blood, heart and skin cells, making them perfect for rebirth as "cell du jour," but lousy at rejuvenation. You don't want Brad Pitt in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" to become a baby all at once; you want him to age backward while still remembering who he is.

Labs around the world jumped on the problem. A studypublished in 2016 by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, showed signs of aging could be expunged in genetically aged mice, exposed for a short time to four main Yamanaka factors, without erasingthe cells' identity.

But there was a downside in all this research: In certain situations, the altered mice developed cancerous tumors.

Looking for a safer alternative, Sinclair lab geneticist Yuancheng Lu chose three of the four factors and genetically added them to a harmless virus. The virus was designed to deliver the rejuvenating Yamanaka factors to damaged retinal ganglion cells at the back of an aged mouse's eye. After injecting the virus into the eye, the pluripotent genes were then switched on by feeding the mouse an antibiotic.

"The antibiotic is just a tool. It could be any chemical really, just a way to be sure the three genes are switched on," Sinclair said. "Normally they are only on in very young developing embryos and then turn off as we age."

Amazingly, damaged neurons in the eyes of mice injected with the three cells rejuvenated, even growing new axons, or projections from the eye into the brain. Since that original study, Sinclair said his lab has reversed aging in the muscles and brains of mice and is now working on rejuvenating a mouse's entire body.

"Somehow the cells know the body can reset itself, and they still know which genes should be on when they were young," Sinclair said. "We think we're tapping into an ancient regeneration system that some animals use -- when you cut the limb off a salamander, it regrows the limb. The tail of a fish will grow back; a finger of a mouse will grow back."

That discovery indicates there is a "backup copy" of youthfulness information stored in the body, he added.

"I call it the information theory of aging," he said. "It's a loss of information that drives aging cells to forget how to function, to forget what type of cell they are. And now we can tap into a reset switch that restores the cell's ability to read the genome correctly again, as if it was young."

While the changes have lasted for months in mice, renewed cells don't freeze in time and never age (like, say, vampires or superheroes), Sinclair said. "It's as permanent as aging is. It's a reset, and then we see the mice age out again, so then we just repeat the process.

"We believe we have found the master control switch, a way to rewind the clock," he added. "The body will then wake up, remember how to behave, remember how to regenerate and will be young again, even if you're already old and have an illness."

Studies on whether the genetic intervention that revitalized mice will do the same for people are in early stages, Sinclair said. It will be years before human trials are finished, analyzed and, if safe and successful, scaled to the mass needed for a federal stamp of approval.

While we wait for science to determine if we too can reset our genes, there are many other ways to slow the aging process and reset our biological clocks, Sinclair said.

"The top tips are simply: Focus on plants for food, eat less often, get sufficient sleep, lose your breath for 10 minutes three times a week by exercising to maintain your muscle mass, don't sweat the small stuff and have a good social group," Sinclair said.

All these behaviors affect our epigenome, proteins and chemicals that sit like freckles on each gene, waiting to tell the gene "what to do, where to do it, and when to do it," according to the National Human Genome Research Institute. The epigenome literally turns genes on and off.

What controls the epigenome? Human behavior and one's environment play a key role. Let's say you were born with a genetic predisposition for heart disease and diabetes. But because you exercised, ate a plant-focused diet, slept well and managed your stress during most of your life, it's possible those genes would never be activated. That, experts say, is how we can take some of our genetic fate into our own hands.

The positive impact on our health from eating a plant-based diet, having close, loving relationships and getting adequate exercise and sleep are well documented. Calorie restriction, however, is a more controversial way of adding years to life, experts say.

Cutting back on food -- without inducing malnutrition -- has been a scientifically known way to lengthen life for nearly a century. Studies on worms, crabs, snails, fruit flies and rodents have found restricting calories "delay the onset of age-related disorders" such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes, according to the National Institute on Aging. Some studies have also found extensions in life span: In a 1986 study, mice fed only a third of a typical day's calories lived to 53 months -- a mouse kept as a pet may live to about 24 months.

Studies in people, however, have been less enlightening, partly because many have focused on weight loss instead of longevity. For Sinclair, however, cutting back on meals was a significant factor in resetting his personal clock: Recent tests show he has a biological age of 42 in a body born 53 years ago.

"I've been doing a biological test for 10 years now, and I've been getting steadily younger for the last decade," Sinclair said. "The biggest change in my biological clock occurred when I ate less often -- I only eat one meal a day now.That made the biggest difference to my biochemistry."

Sinclair incorporates other tools into his life, based on research from his lab and others. In his book "Lifespan: Why We Age and Why We Don't Have To," he writes that little of what he does has undergone the sort of "rigorous long-term clinical testing" needed to have a "complete understanding of the wide range of potential outcomes." In fact, he added, "I have no idea if this is even the right thing for me to be doing."

With that caveat, Sinclair is willing to share his tips: He keeps his starches and sugars to a minimum and gave up desserts at age 40 (although he does admit to stealing a taste on occasion). He eats a good amount of plants, avoids eating other mammals and keeps his body weight at the low end of optimal.

He exercises by taking a lot of steps each day, walks upstairs instead of taking an elevator and visits the gym with his son to lift weights and jog before taking a sauna and a dip in an ice-cold pool. "I've got my 20-year-old body back," he said with a smile.

Speaking of cold, science has long thought lower temperatures increased longevity in many species, but whether it is true or not may come down to one's genome, according to a 2018 study. Regardless, it appears cold can increase brown fat in humans, which is the type of fat bears use to stay warm during hibernation. Brown fat has been shown to improve metabolism and combat obesity.

Sinclair takes vitamins D and K2 and baby aspirin daily, along with supplements that have shown promise in extending longevity in yeast, mice and human cells in test tubes.

One supplement he takes after discovering its benefits is 1 gram of resveratrol, the antioxidant-like substance found in the skin of grapes, blueberries, raspberries, mulberries and peanuts.

He also takes 1 gram of metformin, a staple in the arsenal of drugs used to lower blood sugars in people with diabetes. He added it after studies showed it might reduce inflammation, oxidative damage and cellular senescence, in which cells are damaged but refuse to die, remaining in the body as a type of malfunctioning "zombie cell."

However, some scientists quibble about the use of metformin, pointing to rare cases of lactic acid buildup and a lack of knowledge on how it functions in the body.

Sinclair also takes 1 gram of NMN, or nicotinamide mononucleotide, which in the body turns into NAD+, or nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. A coenzyme that exists in all living cells, NAD+ plays a central role in the body's biological processes, such as regulating cellular energy, increasing insulin sensitivity and reversing mitochondrial dysfunction.

When the body ages, NAD+ levels significantly decrease, dropping by middle age to about half the levels of youth, contributing to age-related metabolic diseases and neurodegenerative disorders. Numerous studies have shown restoring NAD+ levels safely improves overall health and increases life span in yeast, mice and dogs. Clinical trials testing the molecule in humans have been underway for three years, Sinclair said.

"These supplements, and the lifestyle that I am doing, is designed to turn on our defenses against aging," he said. "Now, if you do that, you don't necessarily turn back the clock. These are just things that slow down epigenetic damage and these other horrible hallmarks of aging.

"But the real advance, in my view, was the ability to just tell the body, 'Forget all that. Just be young again,' by just flipping a switch. Now I'm not saying that we're going to all be 20 years old again," Sinclair said.

"But I'm optimistic that we can duplicate this very fundamental process that exists in everything from a bat to a sheep to a whale to a human. We've done it in a mouse. There's no reason I can think of why it shouldn't work in a person, too."

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The 'Benjamin Button' effect: Scientists can reverse aging in mice; the goal is to do the same for humans - WDJT