Biotech Startup Says Mice Live Longer After Genetic Reprogramming (technologyreview.com) 30
An anonymous reader quotes a report from MIT Technology Review: A small biotech company claims it has used a technology called reprogramming to rejuvenate old mice and extend their lives, a result suggesting that one day older people could have their biological clocks turned back with an injection -- literally becoming younger. The life-extension claim in rodents, made by Rejuvenate Bio, a San Diego biotech company, appears in a preprint paper on the website BioRxiv and hasn't been peer reviewed.
Noah Davidsohn, chief scientific officer of Rejuvenate, says the company used gene therapy to add three powerful reprogramming genes to the bodies of mice that were equivalent in age to human 77-year-olds. After the treatment, their remaining life span was doubled, the company says. Treated mice lived another 18 weeks, on average, while control mice died in nine weeks. Overall, the treated mice lived about 7% longer. Although the increase in lifespan was modest, the company says the research provides a demonstration of age reversal in an animal. "This is a powerful technology, and here is the proof of concept," says Davidsohn. "I wanted to show that it's actually something we can do in our elderly population."
Scientists not connected to the company called the study an exciting landmark but cautioned that whole-body rejuvenation using gene therapy remains a poorly understood concept with huge risks. "It's a beautiful intellectual exercise, but I would shy away from doing anything remotely similar to a person," says Vittorio Sebastiano, a professor at Stanford University. One risk is that the powerful programming process can cause cancer. Such an effect is often seen in mice. Even so, the chance that reprogramming could be an elixir of youth has led to a research and investment boom. One company, Altos Labs, says it has raised over $3 billion. "Far more information will be needed to learn exactly what changes the reprogramming genes cause in the mice, and researchers say other groups will need to repeat the experiment before they are convinced," adds the report.
"Sebastiano says the life-extension effect reported by Rejuvenate could be due to changes in a single organ or group of cells, rather than a general mouse-wide rejuvenation effect. Among other shortfalls in its research, Rejuvenate did not carefully document which and how many cells were changed by the genetic treatment."
Noah Davidsohn, chief scientific officer of Rejuvenate, says the company used gene therapy to add three powerful reprogramming genes to the bodies of mice that were equivalent in age to human 77-year-olds. After the treatment, their remaining life span was doubled, the company says. Treated mice lived another 18 weeks, on average, while control mice died in nine weeks. Overall, the treated mice lived about 7% longer. Although the increase in lifespan was modest, the company says the research provides a demonstration of age reversal in an animal. "This is a powerful technology, and here is the proof of concept," says Davidsohn. "I wanted to show that it's actually something we can do in our elderly population."
Scientists not connected to the company called the study an exciting landmark but cautioned that whole-body rejuvenation using gene therapy remains a poorly understood concept with huge risks. "It's a beautiful intellectual exercise, but I would shy away from doing anything remotely similar to a person," says Vittorio Sebastiano, a professor at Stanford University. One risk is that the powerful programming process can cause cancer. Such an effect is often seen in mice. Even so, the chance that reprogramming could be an elixir of youth has led to a research and investment boom. One company, Altos Labs, says it has raised over $3 billion. "Far more information will be needed to learn exactly what changes the reprogramming genes cause in the mice, and researchers say other groups will need to repeat the experiment before they are convinced," adds the report.
"Sebastiano says the life-extension effect reported by Rejuvenate could be due to changes in a single organ or group of cells, rather than a general mouse-wide rejuvenation effect. Among other shortfalls in its research, Rejuvenate did not carefully document which and how many cells were changed by the genetic treatment."
Hold on... (Score:2)
...I need to see what Elizabeth Holmes has to say about this!
Re:Hold on... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: Hold on... (Score:2)
Like you said, Asian cultures seem to live really long but it seems not all factors are equal. Water, walking, and diet seem to be the most important. Asian cultures can have a high prevalence of smoking and social drinking.
Likewise, some of us have that relative that smoked till the day they died and still made it over 90. But for that 1, there are probably 10 who got cancer. The genetics of disease and a hereditary component, is definitely an area we should better understand if not to change genes, at lea
And just when ... (Score:2)
Completely moot (Score:1)
Motivation (Score:2)
Get people to where they will live til 2150,
They may care about the conditions on the planet will be then.
Open it up! (Score:3)
Open it up for humans. The first people to try it will be all the narcissist's and people with way to much money they don't know what to do with... Think of all the cosmetic surgery monsters in Hollywood lining up to get their injections... images of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade come to mind. "She chose poorly."
The world might actually be a better place because of it.
Re: (Score:1)
In related news... (Score:3)
Mice also live longer when you stop cutting them open to see what's inside.
Film at 11.
7% (Score:2)
There is another important data point to look for (Score:3)
The results of the study are interesting, most interesting to somebody whose story is just about completely written. Rather than looking at only how much longer the mice lived how about also looking at how the mice died. Did they die of heart problems, advanced feebleness, cancer, or other things. That may give a clue for what to watch for when studying it in humans.
Meanwhile, gimme some. I have little to lose at this point.
{^_^}
Re: (Score:1)
Modded down for telling the truth again but to what end??
Methuselah and Minnie (Score:3)
Sales pitch for VC funding? (Score:2)
Mice Were Harmlessly Released In New York City : ) (Score:2)
They have thousands of volunteer testers (Score:2)
Most of them Hollywood actresses.
Who knew? (Score:2)
Maybe this has existed longer than we thought? That might explain Mickey's longevity...
No thanks (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
If life extension becomes immortality? I can almost guarantee you'll see nation-states the world over changing their tune about suicide. Right now they need us to live productive enough lives to wring enough dollars out of us to make it worth tolerating our existence. If we live forever? You can be damned sure they'll want a nice, easy way out for those that are no longer considered "productive." The suffering will mean jack-all to the decision makers if it isn't their own, but the ability to check-out on a
Re: (Score:3)
Treatments like this may or may not help with physical damage to the body. One of the things about healing is that a significant part of it is done by gluing things back together with scar tissue, which can work surprisingly well, but, while there are other healing mechanisms, most things healed with scar tissue stay stuck together with scar tissue for the rest of your life. Which can end up being problematic since scar tissue has to be maintained. That's one of the reasons vitamin C is so important. Your s
Re: (Score:2)
Not going to be soon enough for me! (Score:2)
Not being young any more, I'm resigned to the likelihood this will be perfected for humans the day after I die...
But is it relevant to humans? (Score:2)