Category Archives: Transhuman News

Doctors, philosophers and scientists have tinkered at extension of the human lifespan, trying to figure out how to prolong our perpetual flight from the reaches of death. Usually, though, the focus is on the addendum of years to the end of our lives.

A fresh, go-getting start-up called Gameto is pointing out that an extension of the human lifespan is not the end-all-be-all target of augmented human longevity. Instead, this biotechnology company is researching the longevity of one of the human bodys fastest aging organs: the ovaries, and on Monday, it announced $20million in Series A financing to expand these efforts.

Aging up to five times faster than the rest of the body, the subsequent decrease in fertility is what marks the start of menopause for the majority of women and the beginning of several associated symptoms and conditions that can heavily impact the daily lives of those experiencing it. And now that humans live almost twice as long as we used to, most women are looking at twice the amount of time spent with menopause and its after-effects.

Ovaries age five times faster than other organs, resulting in infertility, early menopause and increased years of poor health for women. We want to change the narrative of female reproductive longevity and address the root causes of sex/gender inequality in our society," said Gameto CEO Dr. Dina Radenkovic, M.D. in the press release.

With research that began in the laboratories of George Church at Harvard Medical Schools Wyss Institute, Gameto has created a three-part platform for ovarian therapeutics that will address menopause and assisted fertility: Fertilo, focused on the improvement of assisted fertility and working to eliminate female infertility; Deovo, focused on uncovering pharmaceutical treatments and constructing a computational platform for ovarian aging; and Ameno, focused on alleviating the medical burdens of menopause by finding a way to make it optional, not entirely unlike skipping the sugar pills in traditional birth control so that a woman doesnt start her period.

"We have strong preclinical evidence to believe in our platform," Dr. Radenkovic said. Its development is being guided by Martin Varsavsky, whose previous entrepreneurial efforts include a nationwide network of fertility centers that spans the United States known as Prelude Fertility.

Investment firms seem to agree, as Gameto originally raised $3 million in seed funding from the SALT Fund, Atomic founder Jack Abraham, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Coatue Management founder Dan Rose.

The Series A funding was led by Future Ventures with collaboration from Robert Nelsen, Anne Wojcicki, Bold Capital Partners and TA Ventures.

More:
Gameto Nets $20M on Path to Redefining Reproductive Longevity - BioSpace

The Covid pandemic has brought to the fore discussions around healthcare capacity, advances in treatments as well as the cost of healthcare. The capacity of healthcare services in the public sector is limited, leaving a majority of people, about 75% according to a NITI Aayog estimate, to look for treatment in private healthcare facilities. However, healthcare costs are increasing, which is also a reflection of the advances in healthcare and the resultant human longevity.

Amid all this, choosing a correct health care policy becomes imperative. Now, how does one go about getting health cover for oneself and ones family, such that the cost is optimum and the risk of treatment costs optimally covered? Shefali Munjal, Executive Director, Hero Enterprise, shares knowledge about some of the things that should be kept in mind while choosing the health insurance plan:-

1. Opt for an exhaustive health cover

Shefali Munjal suggest, "Always consider a comprehensive plan which covers one against any and all illnesses and is not limited to a specific illness, like Covid. As illness is unpredictable, you never know when you might need financial coverage."

2. Check for a family floater option

"Check whether the insurer provides a family floater cover for the health plan you are considering. This will allow you to get your entire family covered at a lower premium, rather than opting for separate covers for individual family members," she said.

3. Look for higher Sum Insured (SI)

"With rising treatment costs, it is prudent to look for options that offer a higher Sum Insured, which can cover the treatment costs without placing a financial burden on the family. A higher amount of cover also enables one to upgrade their healthcare treatment without having to dip into own savings, which would have been earmarked for other life events and goals," she advised.

4. Look for a plan without caveats

"It is best to opt for a plan which does not have any sub-limits or co-payments. While these features help in bringing down the premium, they restrict your coverage amount at the time of a claim," she added.

5. Check for plans with complete coverage

"The plan opted for should cover the costs for consumables used in treatment, such as PPE kits, gloves, and masks, which can potentially add-up to a substantial cost," she further added.

6. Get covered for an entire year

Opt for a year-round cover and not a short-term cover of say six or nine months. This ensures that you always have coverage whenever anyone in your family falls ill.

7. Opt for a plan offering coverage in a single, private room

"Given the risk of infections and communicable diseases such as Covid, you wouldnt want to get yourself or your loved ones treated in a shared room where there is a risk of disease transmission," she further suggested.

8. Pre-hospitalization and post-hospitalization cover

"Always check what the number of days for which pre- and post- hospitalization cover is offered. A longer time duration helps in covering expenses on medicines, diagnostics, and doctor consultations before hospitalization and after discharge from the hospital," she added.

"Any illness strains a familys finances. This has come to the fore in the Covid pandemic. It is therefore imperative, and prudent, for Indian families to get themselves suitably insured for healthcare related expenses," she concluded.

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The Smart Way of Choosing a Health Insurance Plan Amid Rise in COVID cases in India: Expert - Zee Business

JERUSALEM, Jan. 12, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Recently, a start-up project "LifeBank Chain (LBC)" in Israel is utilizing advanced gene and cell technologies over blockchain to develop advanced therapies. They endeavor to further human longevity and expand access to genetics and cell treatments through cutting-edge technologies.

Gene therapy involves altering the genes inside human body's cells in an effort to treat or stop disease. Genes that don't work properly can cause disease. Gene therapy is the introduction of genes into existing cells to prevent or cure a wide range of diseases. Gene therapy is an exciting new approach that is just making the news. And it will change the field of medicine from what it is today. As scientists discover more genes and their functions, the potential of LBC's treatment is limitless.

Cell therapy is a therapy in which viable cells are injected, grafted or implanted into a patient in order to effectuate a medicinal effect, for example, by transplanting T-cells capable of fighting cancer cells via cell-mediated immunity in the course of immunotherapy. LBC's cellular therapies are designed to improve the immune system's ability to fight cancer. Manufacturing them involves collecting a specific set of cells from the blood, modifying them to produce a more vigorous attack on a patient's cancer cells, and then reinjecting them into the patient.

Immune therapy is a new class of cancer treatment designed to boost or enhance the body's immune system to more efficiently target and destroy cancerous cells. Many experts believe that immunotherapy represents the most promising new cancer treatment since the development of chemotherapy.

LifeBank Chain (LBC) is on this journey. As a full-solution ancillary reagent, services, and instrument provider, LBC will provide flexible and pioneering tools to simplify patient workflow at every step of the manufacturing process.

Count on LBC to provide solutions focused on:

To achieve this ultimate goal, LifeBank Chain establishes a professional, open, and shared social organization -- LBC Life Alliance, inviting life technology companies, scientific research institutes, medical institutions, etc. to jointly solve medical, health, disease, and public health problems, and jointly build the application standards of gene and cell medical technology on the blockchain, and contribute to the cause of human health.

In order to promote the research of gene and cell therapy and the development of regenerative medicine, and ensure the safety and scientificity of gene and cell therapy and its research, LBC adopts comprehensive measures in relevant ethics, economy, law, technical management and public governance to create a better research environment for gene and cell therapy development.

LifeBank Chain:

https://lifebankchain.io

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lifebankchain

Email: lbc@lifebankchain.io

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Gene and Cell Therapy Benefits to Everyone

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LifeBank Chain Brings Ultimate Gene and Cell Therapy Benefits to Everyone - GlobeNewswire

The lifespan of Americans has increased considerably over the last century. Lifespan at birth in 1920 was 53 years. That figure jumped to 79 years in 2020. Some people live much longer than that. The oldest American on record lived to be 119. But human lifespans are a fraction of those of some animals.

To find the longest living animal in the world, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data in the Human Ageing Genomic Resources database collection specifically, the AnAge animal longevity database.

Cynthia Kenyon is a biochemist and geneticist working on unlocking the secrets of longevity. At a TED talk in Edinburgh, Scotland, eight years ago, she talked about aging. There are some animals that dont seem to age, said Kenyon. If you look at birds, which live a long time, cells from the birds tend to be more resistant to a lot of environmental stresses like high temperature, or hydrogen peroxide.

About three-fourths of the species we considered are either fish or mammals like whales that live in the ocean. Size doesnt appear to be a factor in how long animals live. Salamanders called olms that weigh less than an ounce can live as long as 102 years. The largest animal on Earth, the blue whale, can live to be up to 110 years. Despite its size, the blue whale is not among the most dangerous mammals on Earth.

To identify the longest living animal in the world, 24/7 Tempo reviewed animal aging and longevity data from AnAge, a curated database on animal history, genomes, and longevity records, that is part of the Human Ageing Genomic Resources (HAGR) suite of databases. The longest-living animals were identified by examining their maximum longevity, supplemented by our analysis of specimen, kingdom, and genus. Only organisms from the Kingdom Animalia were included. Animals from the phylum Porifera, such as sponges, were excluded. Average adult weight of each organism that were not provided by AnAge were confirmed by a variety of internet sources. Only animals considered to have an acceptable data quality or higher by AnAge were included.

The oldest living animal in the world is the Ocean quahog clam. Here are the details:> Oldest recorded: 507 years> Average adult weight: 0.5 lbs.> Habitat: Northern Atlantic Ocean

Methodology: To identify the longest living animal in the world, 24/7 Tempo reviewed animal aging and longevity data from AnAge, a curated database on animal history, genomes, and longevity records, that is part of the Human Ageing Genomic Resources (HAGR) suite of databases. The longest-living animals were identified by examining their maximum longevity, supplemented by our analysis of specimen, kingdom, and genus. Only organisms from the Kingdom Animalia were included. Animals from the phylum Porifera, such as sponges, were excluded. Average adult weight of each organism that were not provided by AnAge were confirmed by a variety of internet sources. Only animals considered to have an acceptable data quality or higher by AnAge were included.

Click here to read The 50 Longest Living Animals In The World

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The Longest-Living Animal in the World - 24/7 Wall St.

AI-powered longevity research network Rejuve has announced the appointments of Jasmine Smith and Dr Deborah Duong as new CEO and CTO

The SingularityNET spinoff aims to extend the human health span with the aid of voluntarily donated medical data.

The new leadership team at Rejuve will help make the venture commercially available through the Longevity App, which will soon be available on iPhone and Android, allowing users to improve their health span while earning rewards for discounted healthcare products.

Decentralised network Rejuve is a spinoff of SingularityNET, which allows users to create, share, and monetise AI services at scale.

The company aims to extend the human health span as much as possible through research based on voluntarily donated medical data.

Data will be securely tracked through blockchain, with contributors retaining ownership of medical information as well as being granted compensation for supplying data in the form of tokens, redeemable for supplements, DNA test kits or longevity therapies.

New Rejuve CEO Jasmine Smith previously served for years as a community moderator in the SingularityNET ecosystem, her main focus being on transitioning Rejuve from an early-stage research initiative to a commercially available service.

As the new CEO, Smith will be responsible for ensuring growth of the community of data contributors, whose biodata will provide essential information for Rejuves longevity research.

Here is a list of the top chief executive and chief executive officer (CEO) appointments announced throughout tech. Read here

Following the appointment, Smith said: Longevity science is on the edge of amazing breakthroughs, with more funding and research than ever before.

However, longevity research should be a communal endeavour and not a perk for the privileged few. To ensure this, retaining ownership of the medical data we produce is crucial.

Too often, these data are siphoned and sold off before the contributors know it, without them seeing a reward. Longevity programs based on decentralised ownership of medical data, such as Rejuve, are the only way to ensure that the results of longevity research stay open, accessible and decentralised.

Dr Deborah Duong, an AI researcher focusing on computational social science, complex adaptive systems (CAS) and coevolutionary computation, will continue development of a tokenonomy based on non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that guarantee unconditional ownership of products by data and IP donors.

Dr Duong is currently researching emergent social phenomena among AI agents that generate data-driven casual models, as well as blockchain token economics that incentivise social good, bringing 30 years of experience in AI and CAS simulation to Rejuve ten of which have been in healthcare.

Below is a list of the biggest senior technology hires, including chief technology officer (CTO) and chief information officer (CIO) appointments. Read here

I envision the Rejuve ecosystem as the first true economy that uses the principles of decentralised AI to harness the power of social networks into scientific solutions to aging, new Rejuve CTO Duong commented.

This will be possible through a collaboration between decentralised AI and member stakeholders, incentivised to contribute through a just autonomous organisation that guarantees they own the fruits of their labour.

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New CEO and CTO appointed at Rejuve - Information Age

You may have seen some viral videos of extremely fit, white-haired senior citizens working out like they are still in their 20s or 30s.

They can be seen lifting heavy weights or doing pull-ups easily and nimbly, with well-toned and muscular bodies.

Whether they are male or female, it is an impressive feat for people in their 60s and beyond.

Although these individuals seem unusual, the idea of seniors remaining as fit and healthy as their younger counterparts may not be as uncommon in the future, if experts in the field of human longevity are to be believed.

One of these experts include Harvard geneticist Professor Dr David Sinclair, who has been studying the possibility of age reversal in humans for decades.

His bestselling book, Lifespan: Why We Age, and Why We Dont Have To, theorises that ageing is like a disease.

If it is curable, then we might be able to treat it just like any other disease, which could have the biggest impact on human health since antibiotics and public sanitation.

Before going further though, there are questions some of us might ask, e.g. if being able to reverse ageing implies that we will live longer than before, is it natural?

Does it go against our belief systems?

Shouldnt we just accept that humans arent immortal and just allow life to take its natural course?

ALSO READ: Humans can theoretically live forever, but it's a coin toss after 110

But the primary goal of researchers like Prof Sinclair is to improve our quality of life as we age.

Ageing itself isnt a bad thing, but there are disadvantages that come with it, such as increased risk of illnesses, immobility and frailty.

Thus, its much less about chasing a fountain of youth, and more about finding ways to prevent old-age problems that stop seniors from enjoying a full and active lifestyle in their golden years.

Reset to youth

Scientists classify cells as the simplest level of organisation in a living organism.

Ageing, on a cellular level, is often defined as the accumulation of destructive changes caused by changes to gene expression that gradually shift our cells to an aged state.

Based on years of study, researchers believe that they have found some key reasons as to why humans age.

These include a reduction of energy generated by the mitochondria (the power plants inside our cells), the shortening of telomeres (the caps on the end of chromosomes), a loss of stem cells, and an accumulation of so-called senescent cells (non-functioning zombie cells that linger in our skin and tissues).

While genetic reprogramming to regain youthful functions is one avenue of scientific exploration, researchers are also taking inspiration from creatures like the immortal jellyfish Turritopsis dohrnii that can effectively reset its development and revert to a younger stage.

Prof Sinclair believes that maintaining a youthful appearance in old age involves reactivating genes called sirtuins descendants of an ancient survival circuit.

Sirtuins, he claims, are both the cause and the solution to ageing.

These genes can be turned on by modifying your lifestyle, such as intermittent fasting, or by taking dietary supplements that increase NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) a chemical that plays an integral role in metabolism.

Recently, Prof Sinclair and his team were able to successfully restore the vision of elderly blind mice suffering from a mouse version of glaucoma in their lab by cellular reprogramming to reinstate youthful function and successfully rejuvenate old cells in the mices eyes.

The process used by the scientists Reviver, which stands for recovery of information via epigenetic reprogramming has shown that old tissues can keep a record of youthful epigenetic information that can be accessed for functional age reversal.

That proves that even a complicated organ like the eye can be repaired, polished and made good as new, said Prof Sinclair.

We have no reason to suspect its any different in a human body.

Other developments

Prof Sinclair and his team arent the only ones making breakthroughs in longevity studies.

Here are some other initiatives being made to extend our quality of life:

> Organ regeneration

American biotechnology company LyGenesis has demonstrated that it can grow functional ectopic organs in patients lymph nodes via its organ regeneration technology platform.

In other words, theres a chance that we can get our organs to revert to a normal functioning state should they start to slow or fail.

The companys co-founder Dr Eric Lagasse first demonstrated that allogeneic hepatocytes i.e. genetically and immunologically dissimilar liver cells could re- generate and replace the function of the diseased liver in mice.

The study also showed impressive results in larger mammals, and Dr Lagasse and his team believe the method could ultimately help people with liver diseases.

This means that just one organ donor could potentially help multiple liver disease patients.

> Brain rewiring

The brain has 86 billion neurons, all of which are active.

American neurotechnology company Neurolink has been able to record rat brain activity using thousands of tiny electrodes implanted throughout their brains.

Co-founder Elon Musk has also unveiled a pig with a coin-sized computer chip, which he described as kind of like a Fitbit in your skull with tiny wires.

That might seem like a strange concept, but imagine what the company could do for those suffering from dementia or Parkinsons disease.

If Neurolinks trials with humans are successful, then their devices will be used to help paraplegics operate computers or smartphones with just their mind.

> Measuring biological age

The epigenetic clock refers to the bodys epigenome, which acts as a tracker for changes in DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) expression.

The tracking enables us to identify a persons biological age, which may be more or less than our chronological age.

Testing for biological age is done by selecting sets of DNA-methylation sites across the genome.

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), human genetics and biostatistics professor Dr Steve Horvarth has created the most accurate test to date.

In time, his breakthrough may be instrumental in helping to show that age reversal may be possible.

> Prime editing

Weve reached a point where the discovery of diseases is often conducted at the genome level and a growing number of studies are finding overlap between common and rare human diseases.

This has enhanced our understanding of how diseases develop and may even bring us closer to a cure for all and any diseases.

Now, an advanced form of gene editing is taking another step in that direction.

Prime editing can, in theory, allow researchers to edit more types of genetic mutations than current technology.

In addition to correcting genetic mutations in cells that arent able to divide, prime editing could also be used to manipulate cells that rarely divide, such as those in the nervous system.

In the near future, untreatable neurological diseases like Huntingtons and Parkinsons may even have a cure.

Tips to stay young

OK, so while all these developments are still in their early stages, how do those of us approaching our golden years try to stay youthful right now?

According to Prof Sinclair, the first thing people should do to live longer is to eat less often.

I think the most important thing for increasing healthspan if theres just one thing I could say it would be to eat less often, he said.

Dont eat three meals a day.

He also recommended lifting weights, using biomarker feedback, sleeping well and reducing stress, and eating plants that have been stressed.

(Stressed plants are grown without fertilisers or pesticides, and produce their own defensive compounds, thus consuming these plants may also benefit our own biology.)

Prof Sinclair also shared about several supplements he considers to be longevity molecules or supplements that can help reduce inflammation, help control blood sugar and serve as fuel to power sirtuins.

One of them is resveratrol, which contains a natural compound found in red wine that may help lower blood sugar levels and inflammation.

The second is metformin, a common diabetes drug (doctors may prescribe it off-label for anti-ageing) that helps to control blood sugar levels, while acting like calorie restriction to protect against health problems and prolong life.

Metformin is derived from a medicinal plant called goats rue.

It first received attention when a study from the United Kingdom, involving more than 180,000 people, determined that those whose diabetes was treated with the drug lived notably longer than those who didnt use it.

Newer studies show that it may also have a beneficial effect on heart disease.

The third supplement that Prof Sinclair takes is called nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), which converts into NAD+ through a series of chemical reactions.

NAD+, in turn, serves as the most important fuel for sirtuin enzymes and to reverse ageing, increase energy production and brain health, and lengthen telomeres, as well as for chromosome stability and immune cell signalling.

True longevity (or some may like to call it immortality) is still far away.

But institutions all over the world, from the US to Europe and Russia, are making concerted efforts to achieve this goal, and we may be living in the right time to see these developments come to reality.

Datuk Dr Nor Ashikin Mokhtar is a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, and a functional medicine practitioner. For further information, email starhealth@thestar.com.my. The information provided is for educational and communication purposes only, and it should not be construed as personal medical advice. Information published in this article is not intended to replace, supplant or augment a consultation with a health professional regarding the readers own medical care. The Star does not give any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to the content appearing in this column. The Star disclaims all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.

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Is it possible to reverse ageing? - The Star Online

Within the first 30 minutes of winning the BT Young Scientist competition last year, Greg Tarr had an offer from a London-based investor wanting to put money into his software project to detect deepfake media.

hat email was shortly followed by a cascade of interest from other investors and employers one offering him a pretty high six-figure sum to come and work for them as an engineer.

It might have seemed like a tough choice for the then Leaving Cert student from Bandon Grammar School in Co Cork, but it was an easy decision to turn it down once he realised he wanted to pursue his dream of becoming an entrepreneur.

Now, almost 12 months on, the 18-year-old has his own company and is a millionaire.

With the 58th BT Young Scientist competition in full swing this week, but again being held virtually for the second year in a row, Greg recalled the moment he found out about his own win.

He said his software could detect deepfake media which is usually a video of a person in which their face or body has been digitally altered so they appear to be someone else, typically used maliciously or to spread false information.

In the moments before he was crowned the winner, he was watching the proceedings with his parents on a screen in his bedroom.

I didnt expect to win at all. I was looking forward to seeing who would because I wanted to hear about what their project was, but it was me, he said.

Greg, who turns 19 this weekend, told the Irish Independent it has been a year of growth for him.

I think I grew up in a month I went from being 17 and having not paid any tax in my life and not having driven a car to owning an American company with an Irish subsidiary, having to find out about tax law and having one million in the bank in that year, he said.

He is now building AI infrastructure the motorways and bridges of the internet as CEO of his company, Inferex, with his dad, Richard Tarr, an engineer and former chief of technology at a data centre, working as head of infrastructure for his son.

Greg said they are currently looking to hire engineers and the firm will be expanding as fast as they can get talented people.

Meanwhile, this years contestants have focused on many tech and societal issues yet to be solved.

Eabha Mills (15), from Heywood Community School in Co Laois, worked with Leah Gilnagh and Madeleine Kavanagh (both 16) to see which sugars improve sports performance best.

They found pineapple gives a slow release of energy compared with the quick boost offered by Jelly Tots.

We now take pineapple at half-time in a hurling match, Eabha said.

A project by Miah OCallaghan (12), from Kinsale Community School, Co Cork, looks at encouraging the adoption of battery hens to help reduce the carbon footprint. His family have rescued 35 hens.

Frustrated with losing so many sliotars during practice, Noah Hill (14), from St Finians College, Co Westmeath, designed his project a device to help retrieve lost sliotars that his local GAA club, Clonkill, has expressed an interest in.

Aoife Duggan (13), from Sandford College, Ranelagh, Dublin, looked into human longevity and found the key to a long and healthy life lies in a joined-up approach to healthcare as well as a good diet and exercise.

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BT Young Scientist: A year after Young Scientist win, Greg Tarr (18) runs firm, employs his dad and has a million in the bank - Independent.ie