{"id":281,"date":"2014-08-26T23:46:32","date_gmt":"2014-08-26T23:46:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joshmitteldorf.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=281"},"modified":"2014-08-27T15:52:39","modified_gmt":"2014-08-27T15:52:39","slug":"281","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/joshmitteldorf\/2014\/08\/26\/281\/","title":{"rendered":"Notes from Rejuvenation Biotech Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"

San Jose Aug 21-23<\/b><\/p>\n

Herbal Telomerase Activators<\/b><\/p>\n

As far as I know, Product B is the best commercial telomerase activation product. \u00a0(For background read this blog entry<\/a>. \u00a0All currently available telomerase activators are inadequate, and they may have only nominal effect – we don\u2019t know.) \u00a0Product B is manufactured by Isagenix, based on cell culture testing at Sierra Sciences<\/a>. \u00a0Sierra screened hundreds of herbal products, reporting their results to Isagenix in black-box mode, blind to what they were testing.<\/p>\n

I now believe that the lowest-level ingredients in Product B (last on the list) are more potent than the highest-level ingredients (first on the list). \u00a0For the last nine months, I have been supplementing with the first four herbal ingredients in Product B: Silymarin, Ashwagandha, Horny Goat Weed and Bacopa. \u00a0I plan to look into the last six ingredients: \u00a0Boswellia, Maca<\/a>, Hawthorn, Harada, Shilajit<\/a> and Chia seed extract. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Complete list of ingredients here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Note that there are no extracts of astragalus in Product B. \u00a0I have contradictory information about whether cycloastragenol is a telomerase activator.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CRISPR<\/b><\/p>\n

George Church of Harvard\u2019s Stem Cell Institute led the conference off with a summary of progress in CRISPR technology. \u00a0I had never heard of CRISPR until last year. \u00a0As of last year, it was a way to gain more control in genetic engineering. \u00a0A protein could be engineered to seek out and bind to a specific spot on a specific chromosome, so that the experimenter could now specify where in the gene would be inserted.<\/p>\n

Well, that was so last year. \u00a0Now the protein has been replaced with an RNA sequence that can be specified as an exact complement to the particular region of DNA that is targeted. \u00a0Easier, and more reliable. \u00a0And – this is the biggest news of the conference – CRISPR can now be married to a gene promoter or repressor, so that particular genes can be turned on and off using CRISPR. \u00a0This is possible not just in cells but in living organisms, potentially in you and me.<\/p>\n

It is my belief that aging is controlled to a great extent by gene expression. \u00a0Young gene expression creates a young body. \u00a0Our bodies know how to be young, if we instruct them to do so. \u00a0Well, we now have the language to tell the body to be young. \u00a0We also have a good selection of genes to start with, genes for hormones that we have too little<\/a> or too much<\/a> of as we age. \u00a0What are we waiting for.<\/p>\n

A questioner asked George about interaction with \u201cchromatin state\u201d. \u00a0In any given cell, at any given time, some of the DNA is unwrapped and available for expression, called euchromatin, while the rest, called heterochromatin, is spooled around protein spindles (histones). \u00a0George indicated that the CRISPR technique works a lot better on euchromatin than on heterochromatin, as we would expect, but that it works some even on heterochromatin, and we\u2019re learning rapidly.<\/p>\n

CRISPR is a very new technology, still in the explosive stage of development, and I promise to write a full post about it soon.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ecological consequences of longevity<\/b><\/p>\n

Caleb Finch, who wrote the book on genetics of aging more than 20 years ago, still carries an encyclopedic knowledge of research in the field. \u00a0At RB2014, he placed aging and anti-aging in the context of human imact on the environment and environmental impact on humans. \u00a0Anti-aging leads to population growth, unless we can couple it with reduced fertility. \u00a0Population growth leads to habitat loss, species extinctions, and loss of biodiversity. \u00a0Population density also contributes to pollution, which can accelerate aging. \u00a0Particulate pollution, associated with diesel engines especially, accelerates amyloid deposits and cognitive decline. \u00a0Air pollution also exacerbates heart disease<\/a>. Alzheimer\u2019s Disease has been increasing steadily the last 40 years as heart disease has been in decline.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cell Signals<\/b><\/p>\n

I learned from Judith Campisi that senescent cells send out signals that potentiate cancer, and from Evan Snyder that stem cells send out signals that promote growth and health of cells nearby. \u00a0Yea, stem cells! \u00a0Boo, senescent cells! \u00a0Only recently, it had been thought that senescent cells were merely slackers, no longer able to perform their function, but it turns out that they emit signals that have a negative systemic effect as well. \u00a0Only recently, it had been thought that healthy stem cells were able to repair and rebuild damaged tissue, but it turns out that they emit signals that have a positive systemic effect as well. \u00a0These are global signaling properties that are just coming into focus.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

GDF11<\/b><\/p>\n

Brock Reeve of Harvard Stem Cell Institute gave us an update on recent work on the signal protein called GDF11<\/a> (for G<\/b>rowth D<\/b>ifferentiation F<\/b>actor), which circulates in the blood. \u00a0We have less GDF11 as we get older. \u00a0Just this spring, two article came out in Science<\/i> which demonstrate that GDF11 can stimulate growth of new neurons<\/a> and muscles<\/a>. \u00a0Last year, it had been reported that GDF11 also can reverse damage to aged hearts<\/a>. \u00a0It may be impractical to administer GDF11 intravenously as a systemic rejuvenating factor, but the race is on to discover promoter treatments that enhance expression of our native GDF11 gene.<\/p>\n

Skepticism from the conference organizer<\/b><\/p>\n

I found it ironic that Aubrey de Grey, whose SENS Foundation sponsoted the conference, expressed skepticism about this whole approach to aging. \u00a0He sees aging as a matter of accumulated damage rather than perverse signaling, and he imagines that epigenetic changes that happen with age are actually evolved for the body\u2019s benefit. \u00a0He distinguished systematic epigenetic shifts with age, which he thinks are beneficial, from random epigenetic drift, which he thinks is detrimental.<\/p>\n

Stem cell therapy for heart disease<\/b><\/p>\n

Linda Marban of Capricor<\/b><\/a> Inc in Los Angeles reported on research to cells from the patient himself, treat them in vitro <\/i>to turn them into stem cells, grow the stem cells in a petri dish, and then inject them into the patient\u2019s heart, where they can repair damaged tissue. \u00a0The technology was described several years ago in this Nature article<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Stem cells to treat Parkinson\u2019s Disease<\/b><\/p>\n

Stephen Minger reported on the potential for applying this same technique to teat Parkinson\u2019s Disease. \u00a0Foetal stem cells have already been used with some success, though, of course, they tend to be rejected by the patient\u2019s immune system. \u00a0Using induced pluripotent stem cells (IPS cells) derived fromt the patient\u2019s own cells should solve this problem. \u00a0It is now known that the brain already contains stem cells, and that in cases of stroke and brain traum, stem cells migrate to the site of the damage and activate to repair the damage. \u00a0Minger speculates that new nerve cells might be routinely required in order to form new memories.<\/p>\n

OVERALL, <\/b>I had the impression that there are now significant anti-aging technologies poised to move out of the lab and into testing and marketing. \u00a0Funding issues, marketing, regulation and logistics will impose frustrating delays.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

San Jose Aug 21-23 Herbal Telomerase Activators As far as I know, Product B is the best commercial telomerase activation product. \u00a0(For background read this blog entry. \u00a0All currently available telomerase activators are inadequate, and they may have only nominal effect – we don\u2019t know.) \u00a0Product B is manufactured by Isagenix, based on cell culture … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nNotes from Rejuvenation Biotech Conference - Josh Mitteldorf<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/joshmitteldorf\/2014\/08\/26\/281\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Notes from Rejuvenation Biotech Conference\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"San Jose Aug 21-23 Herbal Telomerase Activators As far as I know, Product B is the best commercial telomerase activation product. \u00a0(For background read this blog entry. \u00a0All currently available telomerase activators are inadequate, and they may have only nominal effect – we don\u2019t know.) \u00a0Product B is manufactured by Isagenix, based on cell culture ... 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The surprising fact that our bodies are genetically programmed to age and to die offers an enormous opportunity for medical intervention. It may be that therapies to slow the progress of aging need not repair or regenerate anything, but only need to interfere with an existing program of self-destruction. Mitteldorf has taught a weekly yoga class for thirty years. He is an advocate for vigorous self care, including exercise, meditation and caloric restriction. After earning a PhD in astrophysicist, Mitteldorf moved to evolutionary biology as a primary field in 1996. He has taught at Harvard, Berkeley, Bryn Mawr, LaSalle and Temple University. He is presently affiliated with MIT as a visiting scholar. In private life, Mitteldorf is an advocate for election integrity as well as public health. He is an avid amateur musician, playing piano in chamber groups, French horn in community orchestras. His two daughters are among the first children adopted from China in the mid-1980s. Much to the surprise of evolutionary biologists, genetic experiments indicate that aging has been selected as an adaptation for its own sake. This poses a conundrum: the impact of aging on individual fitness is wholly negative, so aging must be regarded as a kind of evolutionary altruism. Unlike other forms of evolutionary altruism, aging offers benefits to the community that are weak, and not well focussed on near kin of the altruist. 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