Lifeboat Foundation

A 14-year-old girl who said before dying of cancer that she wanted a chance to live longer has been allowed by the high court to have her body cryogenically frozen in the hope that she can be brought back to life at a later time.

The court ruled that the teenager’s mother, who supported the girl’s wish to be cryogenically preserved, should be the only person allowed to make decisions about the disposal of her body. Her estranged father had initially opposed her wishes.

During the last months of her life, the teenager, who had a rare form of cancer, used the internet to investigate cryonics. Known only as JS, she sent a letter to the court: “I have been asked to explain why I want this unusual thing done. I’m only 14 years old and I don’t want to die, but I know I am going to. I think being cryo‐preserved gives me a chance to be cured and woken up, even in hundreds of years’ time.

Continue reading “14-Year-Old Girl Who Died of Cancer Wins Right to be Cryogenically Frozen” »

So much for “Junk” DNA being a load of old rubbish!

UC San Francisco researchers have taken a major step toward understanding the function of the tens of thousands of human genes that do not code for proteins, a phenomenon considered one of the key remaining mysteries of the human genome. New findings, which focused on the roles of these genes in human cancer cells, suggest a possible new strategy for targeting the disease.

In recent years, researchers have recognized that non-coding regions of the genome—long dismissed as “junk DNA”—are actually key players in cell biology, development, and disease. However, the vast majority of these regions have not yet been extensively studied.

Continue reading “CRISPR study reveals unexpected roles of non-coding RNAs” »

Stem cell bandages are in development in the UK.

A ‘living bandage’ made from stem cells, which could revolutionise the treatment and prognosis of a common sporting knee injury, has been trialled in humans for the first time by scientists at the Universities of Liverpool and Bristol.

Meniscal tears are suffered by over one million people a year in the US and Europe alone and are particularly common in contact sports like football and rugby. 90 per cent or more of tears occur in the white zone of meniscus which lacks a blood supply, making them difficult to repair. Many professional sports players opt to have the torn tissue removed altogether, risking osteoarthritis in later life.

Continue reading “Stem cell ‘living bandage’ for knee injuries trialled in humans” »

Further progress with cancer this time using genome sequencing.

In their search for new ways to treat cancer, many scientists are using a high-tech process called genome sequencing to hunt for genetic mutations that encourage tumor cells to thrive. To aid in this search, some researchers have developed new bioinformatics methods that each claim to help pinpoint the cancer-friendly mutants.

But a stubborn question remains: Among the numerous new tactics that aim to spotlight the so-called cancer driver genes, which produce the most accurate results?

Continue reading “New bioinformatics tool tests methods for finding mutant genes that ‘drive’ cancer” »

Hype aside demonstration that epigentic reprogramming can reverse some of the aging process is an important step forward for progress. We can expect to see this moving to human trials in the next decade or so making the future an exciting possibility.

Science is increasingly coming to the conclussion that aging is amenable to intervention and that it is a plastic process that we can manipulate. More research in this week shows that aging is indeed elastic and is not a one way process at all. The sooner society accepts what the data from the labs is showing the sooner we can cure age-related diseases for healthier longer lives!

“We did not correct the mutation that causes premature aging in these mice,” lead researcher Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte said in a recent statement. “We altered aging by changing the epigenome, suggesting that aging is a plastic process.”

Continue reading “Scientists Expand Mice Lifespans” »

More progress on the cancer front! Controlling cancer effectively is a critical part of rejuvenation biotechnology and therefore all cancer progress is of great interest to our community. If there was a poster child of aging diseases, cancer would be at the front of the queue.

“The results could lead to new treatments—not only for a variety of cancers, but also other diseases that arise from faulty proteinases, such as Alzheimer’s, asthma, multiple sclerosis and arthritis.”

Remember the Automotive X Prize? There’s one for tricorders, too, and finalists have just started consumer testing. Coming soon to a sick bay near you.

Biologist Daisy Robinton talks about engineering aging and the possibilities new technology offers.

Harvard University biologist Daisy Robinton reveals how science is helping us understand how and why we age.

Continue reading “Can we engineer the end of ageing?” »

Changes to gene activity that occur with age can be turned back, a new study shows.

• By Karen Weintraub on December 15, 2016