Aubrey de White

We have discussed the ideas of Aubrey de Grey quite a bit on the bayblab previously. Basically he is a former artificial intelligence researcher turned theoretical biologist who believes that aging itself can be slowed down or stopped using near future technology. In fact he has suggested that we may be in the presence of people who will be immortal, ie people for whom this kind of technology will be available to them before they die.
It is easy to dismiss Aubrey due to his lack of experimental biology experience and his likeness to Gandalf the Grey. His ascendancy to Aubrey de White seems unlikely, however, I was fairly impressed with an actual in depth interview with Aubrey on "Futures in Biotech". He has a more broad understanding that I initially gave him credit for. I think I will read his book "Ending Aging".
Some of the research that the Methuselah Foundation is funding he speaks of.
An example is trying to make proteins that are coded for in mitochondrial DNA function but be less hydrophobic. Proteins that are encoded in mitochondria are apparently more hydrophobic. The mitochondria has maintained these proteins in it's small genome because they can not be translated and transported to the mitochondria, like many other mitochondrial proteins. These proteins are too hydrophobic to be unwound and then placed into the mitochondria so the mitochondria encodes for them itself. By engineering these proteins to be less hydrophobic they could be encoded in the nuclear DNA and transported to the mitochondria. This would protect these genes from the high mutation rates found in mitochondrial DNA. Great stuff. I can't imagine how they would actually get this to work but Aubrey is ambitious.
Anyways if you aren't going to read the book at least listen to the podcast interview with Aubrey. The interviewer is not quite as good as the newest bayblab podcast where we interview a dentistry student, and it's over an hour long, but overall I though it was quite good.

Aubrey De Gray is still alive

Aubrey keeps on coming up on my internet searches and he, annoyingly, must be getting money. Check out the SENS (strategies for engineered negligable senescence) website where they link to their scientific journal that is included in the pubmed database, Rejuvenation Research. EMBO published a revealing debate in 2005 both pro-Aubrey and anti-Aubrey. The anti-Aubrey article sums up my feelings on the debate quite well whereas the article by Aubrey de Gray speaks mostly about why there is resistance to his ideas on a political level, not much on a scientific level. Good stuff.

Aubrey de Grey

Wise like Gandalf the Grey is Aubrey de Grey. Maybe not. Make up your own mind as you check out his talk at TEDtalks. I haven't checked it out yet, lemme know if he's under the influence of Sauron. Found on www.boingboing.net.

More moles means longer life?

According to the American Academy of Dermatology "the majority of moles show up during the first two decades of a person’s life while about one in every 100 babies are born with moles." This means that in fact as you age you get fewer moles not more as one would have guessed.

Moles are usually associated with UV exposure and cancer risk: "A basic reference chart used for consumers to spot suspicious moles is found in the mnemonic, A-B-C-D. The letters stand for Asymmetry, Border, Color and Diameter. Sometimes, the letter E (for Evolving) is added. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, if a mole starts changing in size, color, shape or, especially, if the border of a mole develops ragged edges or becomes larger than a pencil eraser, it would be an appropriate time to consult with a physician. Other warning signs include a mole -- even if smaller than a pencil eraser -- that is different than the others and begins to crust over, bleed, itch, or becomes inflamed. "

However a new study involving twins in AACR's Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention journal, shows that more moles later in life means longer life expectancy: "In the study, researchers found those with more than 100 moles had longer telomeres than those with fewer than 25.The difference between the two mole groups was equivalent to six to seven years of ageing. " . After checking out some pictures of Aubrey De Grey I don't see any moles on his face!

Of Interest

• An (open-access) PLoS paper describes how the big drug companies contract out research management and paper-writing to help promote their products. The degree to which a sizable chunk of the peer-reviewed biomedical literature is manufactured in this way is worth at least being aware of.

• While much ageing research these days seems to be directed toward the goal of "curing" it, at least one institution seems to be interested in understanding its benefits. "Defining Wisdom" is a University of Chicago initiative aiming to fund research that explores, well, just that, wisdom. Bravo.

• Genomic instability is a hallmark of cancerous cells and makes them elusive therapeutic targets; interestingly, a new report from researchers at Mount Sinai in Toronto shows that this defect is also exhibited by yeast cells deficient in vitamin B6 (open access).

• Kohanski et al. report in Cell a novel mechanism by which a variety of antibiotics can kill bacteria - induction of radical oxygen species. Who would've thunk it?

• Acupuncture works a lot better than standard therapy (physio, exercise, etc.) for lower-back pain, but it doesn't matter where you stick the needles. Guess those meridians really aren't real.

• Velociraptors had feathers. That's one (actually a co-ordinated group of) damn-scary bird.

• Scientist-bloggers from Judith Campisi's lab report on SENS3, the infamous cure ageing conference organized by long-bearded Aubrey de Gray.
  

Gandalf on Colbert

Our favorite bearded immortal, Aubrey de Grey, made an appearance on Colbert Report a couple of days ago. He actually makes a funny near the end. We have talked at length about the plausibility of the former computer scientists ideas about preventing aging on the blog and on the podcast.

Quack of the week

This week's quackery is a bit less expensive, and a little less dangerous and it looks like a small purple dildo. The Tesla purple personal oscillator can not only serve as a sex toy but apparently also as an electro-magnetic shield, and an energy source. According to Life technology (TM), this invention comes from exclusive papers from Tesla himself. He must be oscillating in his grave. According to the company "The Tesla Purple Energy Shield™ emits vast quantities of energy, which directly repairs, strengthens and protects the energetic fields of the human mind body and soul". Wow a new energy source you're thinking, finally we can wean ourselves from fossil fuels.

How does it work? : "The Tesla Purple Energy Shield™ outer shell is made of aluminium, which is first anodised (electrolytic oxidation) and then colored. The spin of the atoms and electrons of the aluminium is thus changed in such a way, that The Tesla Purple Energy Shield™ is said to vibrate in resonance with the fundamental energy (Chi, Prana, Orgon) of the universe. (...) With anodising, the field of the plating is changed and interacts with tachyons. The surface of the plating has a unique crystal-structure."
Wow now this is cool, I didn't remember reading about this in quantum mechanics, but I love to think that the anodization of my beer can will create faster than light particles.

What does it do? : well many things, but my personal favorites is that it repairs DNA and retards aging! Wow somebody needs to send one to Aubrey De Grey. "will support the immune system and physical healing (e.g. headaches, cuts, wounds, fractures etc.)". Notice how all these quacks always refer back to the immune system...

How do we measure the effect? : "the use of The Tesla Purple Energy Shield™ will eventually raise your frequency rate of angstrom units per second." hmm lets see, yeah frequency rate, you mean Hz or something (oscilation/second)? hmmm angstrom per second, you mean speed? Like on the highway my car goes at 2.7e11 angstrom/sec. I'll tell that to the cop next time...

At 179$ I don't see how anyone could pass this up.

Fortune telling through science

It seems anti-aging research is getting a lot of press recently with the announcement that the co-founder of Paypal is teaming up with the infamous Aubrey De Grey to match the funds of the Mathuselah prize. Whoever gets his mice to live longest gets the 3.6 M$ jackpot. The evil scientists on their tropical island are collectively rejoicing. Then this paper comes out on PNAS saying that by analyzing every biomarker under the sun you can guess how long you'll live. It seems to me we could use those markers to breed super-mice. I for one welcome our immortal mice overlords. If you are interrested, those are the rules: "The rejuvenation prize deals with peer-reviewed studies involving at least 40 animals, 20 treated and 20 control. Treatment may begin only at mid-life, and the average lifespan of the 10% longest living treated animals is used for the record. As of 2005, this record stood at 1356 days (about 3.7 years); the treatment was calorie restriction."