New DNA Repair Process Discovery May Lead to Human Life Extension

A key component of aging is the accumulation of errors in cells genetic’ genetic code or DNA. Once enough errors accumulate, the cell makes faulty proteins leading to irreparable cell damage and death, or in some cases cancer.

In a new study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry researchers discovered that DNA acetylation governs DNA replication and repair. This process adds acetyl groups to DNA segments which then determines what path of DNA doubling that segment will take.

Cells are known to use a high fidelity yet high energy consuming path for DNA that encodes for proteins.  A low cost yet lower fidelity pathway is used for non protein encoding segments of DNA. The acetylation process just identified tells the cell which repair process the section of DNA should undergo.

Once the process of DNA acetylation can be exploited and applied at will it is possible to ensure cells have very low DNA error rates and thus live longer.

“Our research is in the very early stages, but there is great potential here, with the capacity to change the human experience,” said Robert Bambara, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of Rochester Medical Center and leader of the research. “Just the very notion is inspiring.”

Though exciting it could take a while before this research leads to human lifespan extension.

“The translational rate is becoming better and better. Today, the course between initial discovery and drug development is intrinsically faster. I could see having some sort of therapeutic that helps us live longer and healthier lives in 25 years,” said Bambara.

Source (Eureka Alert)

Don’t most businessmen want to live?

Funding of life extension research is extremely close to zero. It lookes like there’s just a couple of men interested in their own lives. The rest seems to want to die. One of those few smart businessmen, Jason Hope announced a half a million dollar donation to the SENS Foundation, a California-based non-profit organization that works to develop, promote and ensure widespread access to rejuvenation biotechnologies which comprehensively address age-related diseases.

“I have had great interest in the SENS Foundation and Dr. Aubrey de Grey’s work for some time now.  I believe their work is essential to the advancement of human medicine and their approach to the overall problem of human aging and its associated diseases (Alzheimer’s, Atherosclerosis, Diabetes, etc.) is the only way to go.  Their work and the work of others that they support will drive the complete redefinition and reshaping of the healthcare, pharmaceutical, and biotech industries as we know them today.  The advancement of rejuvenation biotechnologies is not only extremely important, but it is the future. I am honored to support the SENS Foundation in its efforts, and hope my support helps drive faster results for all of humanity,” said Jason Hope.

The donation was announced by SENS Foundation CEO, Mike Kope, at Tuesday’s ‘Breakthrough Philanthropy’ event hosted by the Thiel Foundation, in the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco – an event that was covered here on my blog this past week.

“We need to create an entirely new biotech industry. That’s why we created SENS Foundation: to be a credible catalyst for change; to be a public research and outreach organization devoted to the creation of a new field- rejuvenation biotechnology.  To that end, we are proud that our projects are capturing the imaginations of top tier collaborators in biotech and regenerative medicine.  Jason Hope’s donation is a major contribution, enabling us to build on our existing collaborations in 2011, and accelerating our progress in the fight against age-related disease,” said Mike Kope

“I enjoyed hearing a lot of great presentations at the Breakthrough Philanthropy event,” said Thiel Foundation chairman Peter Thiel. “But for me, the highlight of the whole evening was hearing about Jason’s bold commitment to defeating aging.”

SENS Foundation CSO, Aubrey de Grey, described the use to which Hope’s donation will be put:

“Arteriosclerosis – hardening of the arteries – is the main cause of increased blood pressure (hypertension) in the elderly, which in turn exacerbates major aspects of aging such as diabetes. It is caused largely by the unwanted accumulation of molecular bonds between the proteins that hold the cells of the artery in place – the extracellular matrix. The same process causes long-sightedness (presbyopia) and contributes to skin aging. I am delighted that Jason’s donation will fund our work on the pharmacological breaking of these unwanted molecular bonds, and the restoration of elasticity to the body’s extracellular matrix.”

Read Mike Kope’s announcement at Tuesday’s ‘Breakthrough Philanthropy’ event and to learn more about SENS Foundation

Gene Sequencing interview with expert: William Andregg

William Andregg is the CEO and founder of Halcyon Molecular. He invented a technology called “core polymer placement” which offers quicker and cheaper DNA sequencing. Mr. Andregg feels that the cost of complete human genome sequencing will be as low as $1000 as soon as the year 2013!

Here is the interview done by Sander Olson, Internet journalist and creator of nanomagazine.com, a website dedicated to interviews of nanotechnology researchers:

Question: How much does it currently cost to sequence ones genome?

Answer: Depends on what you mean by “sequence ones genome”. If you want a truly complete sequence, you can’t get that now. You could spend millions of dollars and you still wouldn’t have even a single truly complete human genome. There are much cheaper options to get something far less accurate and useful- getting down to about $10,000 currently. But we’re hoping that in five years when people talk about “sequencing ones genome”, they really mean it- really sequencing the whole thing, not just seeing part of it.

Question: How much of the entire human genome have we currently sequenced?

Answer: The most comprehensive reference assembly for the human genome still contains hundreds of gaps as of 2010, with millions and millions of missing bases.

The FDA Needs to Rethink Aging

I wanted to share an interesting perspective by statistician Gary Liberson, PhD. He recently published some valid points on the present system of FDA licensing and the difficulty that companies face in finding an economic justification for longevity research without seeking a specific disease.

According to Liberson, the problem lies with the FDA approval system that requires a pharmaceutical company show three things: (1) a mechanism of action (i.e., identify why a drug works), (2) safety and (3) efficacy in managing a measurable biologic end point associated with a disease. This last condition, according to Liberson is a  problem.