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Genome editing technologies have revolutionized biomedical science, providing a fast and easy way to modify genes. However, the technique allowing scientists to carryout the most precise edits, doesn’t work in cells that are no longer dividing — which includes most neurons in the brain. This technology had limited use in brain research, until now. Research Fellow Jun Nishiyama, M.D., Ph.D., Research Scientist, Takayasu Mikuni, M.D., Ph.D., and Scientific Director, Ryohei Yasuda, Ph.D. at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience (MPFI) have developed a new tool that, for the first time, allows precise genome editing in mature neurons, opening up vast new possibilities in neuroscience research.

This novel and powerful tool utilizes the newly discovered gene editing technology of CRISPR-Cas9, a viral defense mechanism originally found in bacteria. When placed inside a cell such as a neuron, the CRISPR-Cas9 system acts to damage DNA in a specifically targeted place. The cell then subsequently repairs this damage using predominantly two opposing methods; one being non-homologous end joining (NHEJ), which tends to be error prone, and homology directed repair (HDR), which is very precise and capable of undergoing specified gene insertions. HDR is the more desired method, allowing researchers flexibility to add, modify, or delete genes depending on the intended purpose.

Coaxing cells in the brain to preferentially make use of the HDR DNA repair mechanism has been rather challenging. HDR was originally thought to only be available as a repair route for actively proliferating cells in the body. When precursor brain cells mature into neurons, they are referred to as post-mitotic or nondividing cells, making the mature brain largely inaccessible to HDR — or so researchers previously thought. The team has now shown that it is possible for post-mitotic neurons of the brain to actively undergo HDR, terming the strategy “vSLENDR (viral mediated single-cell labeling of endogenous proteins by CRISPR-Cas9-mediated homology-directed repair).” The critical key to the success of this process is the combined use of CRISPR-Cas9 and a virus.

Researchers have developed a technique that enables gene editing on neurons — something previously thought to be impossible. This new tool will present amazing new opportunities for neuroscience research.

Technologies designed for editing the human genome are transforming biomedical science and providing us with relatively simple ways to modify and edit genes. However, precision editing has not been possible for cells that have stopped dividing, including mature neurons. This has meant that gene editing has been of limited use in neurological research — until now. Researchers at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience (MPFI) have created a new tool that allows, for the first time ever, precise genome editing in mature neurons. This relieves previous constraints and presents amazing new opportunities for neuroscience research.

A person’s consciousness continues to work after the body has died, a study from New York University Langone School of Medicine finds. The findings echo the new Hollywood film Flatliners.

Author, Writer, Consultant, Speaker and researcher into all areas of Autism.

All from the perspective of being Autistic myself.

Neuron. 2017 Oct 11;96:285–297. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.07.029.

Kim HJ, Taylor JP.

Researchers have discovered why inflammaging occurs and are working on new treatments. Inflammaging is new medical term for “the chronic inflammation brought on by old age.”

Summary: Inflammaging is a low-grade inflammation brought on by old age. It accelerates the aging process and worsens diseases like cancer and heart disease. Because inflammaging accelerates aging, geroscientists are perfecting a few cures for the condition.

As we age, most of us tend to develop a low-grade chronic inflammation that causes disease and damage throughout the body. Because this low-level inflammation typically accompanies aging, scientists have nicknamed it ‘inflammaging.’ Most geroscientists implicate inflammaging as the cause of many of age-related diseases including diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and dementia. These chronic diseases accelerate aging and shorten our lives.

Continue reading “Why Inflammaging Causes Disease and Premature Aging” »

(Medical Xpress)—A team of researchers with Kyoto University and Kagawa University, both in Japan, has cured renal anemia in mice by injecting them with treated human stem cells. In their paper published in Science Translational Medicine, the group describes their approach and how well it worked.

Chronic kidney disease is a serious ailment resulting in a host of symptoms due to the body’s reduced ability to process waste and fluids—many patients eventually experience renal failure, which requires them to undergo routine dialysis or a kidney transplant. Less well known is that people with chronic kidney disease also suffer from renal anemia because the kidneys manufacture the hormone erythropoietin (EPO), which causes the body to produce red blood cells without which the blood cannot carry enough oxygen to the brain and other body parts. The current treatment for renal anemia is injections of EPO every few days, which, for many people, is impractical because of the cost and side effects. In this new effort, the researchers have found a possible new treatment—injecting treated stem cells directly into the kidneys.

In their experiments, the researchers collected stem cells from human cord blood (from the umbilical cord) and then treated them with growth factors that changed them to pluripotent stem cells that grew into mature cells capable of producing EPO. The team then injected the treated cells into the kidneys of mice suffering from renal anemia and monitored them for the rest of their lives.

Continue reading “Human stem cells used to cure renal anemia in mice” »

The work, published in the March 8 issue of Science, finally proves that a single anti-aging enzyme in the body can be targeted, with the potential to prevent age-related diseases and extend lifespans.

The paper shows all of the 117 drugs tested work on the single enzyme through a common mechanism. This means that a whole new class of anti-aging drugs is now viable, which could ultimately prevent cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and type 2 diabetes.

“Ultimately, these drugs would treat one disease, but unlike drugs of today, they would prevent 20 others,” says the lead author of the paper, Professor David Sinclair, from UNSW Medicine, who is based at Harvard University. “In effect, they would slow aging.”

Continue reading “Anti-aging drug breakthrough” »

With all the movies and TV shows currently streaming online, who has time to learn a new language or some other cognitive skill anymore? DARPA (the U.S government’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) has been working on the ultimate cheat code for brains that would cut down the time needed to acquire knowledge and complete skill training. The program was not named after any of the characters from The Matrix, but it probably should have been.

According to Futurism, DARPA announced the Targeted Neuroplasticity Training (TNT) program back in 2016. In theory, DARPA would develop technology that would stimulate peripheral nerves to release more neuromodulators (brain chemicals) including acetylcholine, dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. The chemicals would activate synaptic plasticity and the brain would be trained to process information for cognitive skills more quickly. The stated goal of TNT is to speed up training processes for military personnel and in turn reduce costs and improve results. “DARPA is approaching the study of synaptic plasticity from multiple angles to determine whether there are safe and responsible ways to enhance learning and accelerate training for skills relevant to national security missions,” said TNT Program Manager Doug Webe, in a press release. But the technology could be used for much cooler applications, like teaching me Jiu-jitsu or how to fly a helicopter in a matter of seconds.

Continue reading “Could DARPA’s Brain Uploads Lead To ‘Matrix’ Military Training?” »