Aging & Longevity News and Discussions

[raklian]

Very interesting.

[raklian]

[raklian]

Peter Diamandis laying out the conditions to win the $101 million:

[raklian]

[raklian]

Paper - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41684-023-01286-y

Abstract

The exponential scientific and technological progress during the past 30 years has favored the comprehensive characterization of aging processes with their multivariate nature, leading to the advent of Big Data in preclinical aging research. Spanning from molecular omics to organism-level deep phenotyping, Big Data demands large computational resources for storage and analysis, as well as new analytical tools and conceptual frameworks to gain novel insights leading to discovery. Systems biology has emerged as a paradigm that utilizes Big Data to gain insightful information enabling a better understanding of living organisms, visualized as multilayered networks of interacting molecules, cells, tissues and organs at different spatiotemporal scales. In this framework, where aging, health and disease represent emergent states from an evolving dynamic complex system, context given by, for example, strain, sex and feeding times, becomes paramount for defining the biological trajectory of an organism. Using bioinformatics and artificial intelligence, the systems biology approach is leading to remarkable advances in our understanding of the underlying mechanism of aging biology and assisting in creative experimental study designs in animal models. Future in-depth knowledge acquisition will depend on the ability to fully integrate information from different spatiotemporal scales in organisms, which will probably require the adoption of theories and methods from the field of complex systems. Here we review state-of-the-art approaches in preclinical research, with a focus on rodent models, that are leading to conceptual and/or technical advances in leveraging Big Data to understand basic aging biology and its full translational potential.

[caltrek]

New Aging Clock May Reveal Which Organs Are Aging Faster Than Others
by Miriam Fazia
December 6, 2023

Introduction:

(Inverse) In The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the titular character (played by Brad Pitt) lives a life in reverse. He’s born an old man and grows younger as he ages, eventually dying a newborn infant. The film explores the constant shift of identity through the passage of time, but it also unexpectedly mirrors a scientific reality: Parts of our bodies aren’t all aging at the same pace.

According to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, some of your organs are aging faster than others. Examining blood samples from over 5,600 adults, the researchers used machine learning to identify proteins produced by specific organs that are associated with aging. They estimate that nearly 20 percent of the population — or one in five healthy adults — has at least one organ aging at a fast clip, which may increase a person’s risk of death or it may suggest disease is brewing in that organ. While aging is inevitable, this finding may pave the way for a simple blood test to catch the first wrinklings and prevent disease before it strikes.

ORGAN AGE GAP

There have been a lot of studies on mice that looked into how aging happens at the molecular level in different organs. These studies found that each organ ages in its own unique way and at its own pace. Also, depending on the organ — like the brain, heart, or kidneys — there's a big difference in how likely they are to develop age-related diseases.

Whether this rings true for human organs at the molecular level is still an area of active research. Scientists have come up with different ways of measuring biomarkers corresponding to age. However, most of these methods look at an “individuals’ biological age — the age implied by a sophisticated array of biomarkers — as opposed to their chronical age, the actual numbers of years that have passed since their birth,” Tony Wyss-Coray, a professor of neurology at Stanford University and the study’s lead researcher, said in a press release. Additionally, methods that do look at specific organs only tell us how well they function, not so much specific details on aging.

Read more here: https://www.inverse.com/health/aging-c ... g-fastest

caltrek’s comment: If I am reading the rest of the article correctly, the rate of aging for different organs varies according to the person. This opens the possibility of a comprehensive test that would give an assessment to individual patients. This assessment would identify weaknesses and tell such patients what organs they should concentrate upon in terms of preventative measures.

[raklian]

[raklian]

The Information Theory of Aging by Dr. David Sinclair is officially published in Nature Aging.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s43587-023-00527-6

Abstract

Information storage and retrieval is essential for all life. In biology, information is primarily stored in two distinct ways: the genome, comprising nucleic acids, acts as a foundational blueprint and the epigenome, consisting of chemical modifications to DNA and histone proteins, regulates gene expression patterns and endows cells with specific identities and functions. Unlike the stable, digital nature of genetic information, epigenetic information is stored in a digital–analog format, susceptible to alterations induced by diverse environmental signals and cellular damage. The Information Theory of Aging (ITOA) states that the aging process is driven by the progressive loss of youthful epigenetic information, the retrieval of which via epigenetic reprogramming can improve the function of damaged and aged tissues by catalyzing age reversal.

Read this excellent thread by Dr. David Sinclair explaining the concept underpinning this theory:

[raklian]

Very nice!

[raklian]

Biotech co-founded by Alex Aravanis and Feng Zhang targets epigenetic code to reprogram cells to a healthy state
By Danny Sullivan on January 4, 2024

Genomic medicine company Moonwalk Biosciences has emerged from stealth with $57 million in a combined seed and Series A financing to advance the development of precision epigenetic medicines. Co-founded by former Illumina CTO Dr Alex Aravanis and MIT and Harvard scientist Dr Feng Zhang, the company aims to reprogram cells to their healthy state, using “read-and-write” technologies to develop potentially curative therapies for diseases at the root cause level.

Moonwalk is targeting the epigenetic code – the “software of the genome” – the chemical changes that happen to our genes over time, but without fundamentally changing the DNA sequence itself. Changes to the epigenome are caused by our behavior and environment, and can affect the way our genes work.

When it comes to the company’s potential in targeting diseases of aging specifically, Aravanis told us that epigenetic alterations are “a hallmark of aging that strongly correlate with decline in cell function.”

“There is increasing evidence that these alterations are causally related to loss of function,” he said. “Moonwalk’s epigenome engineering platform can identify these epigenetics changes with unprecedented resolution, predict which targets may be causally related to the loss of function, and then reverse their methylation state, testing them as candidates to restore cell function.”

https://longevity.technology/news/moonw ... -platform/