In a paper published in Science, the Harvard-led team identifies a critical step in the molecular process that allows cells to repair damaged DNA.
Their experiments in mice suggest a treatment is possible for DNA damage from aging and radiation. It is so promising it has attracted the attention of NASA, which believes the treatment can help its Mars mission.
The scientists identified that the metabolite NAD+, which is naturally present in every cell of our body, has a key role as a regulator in protein-to-protein interactions that control DNA repair.
Treating mice with a NAD+ precursor, or “booster,” called NMN improved their cells’ ability to repair DNA damage caused by radiation exposure or old age.
“The cells of the old mice were indistinguishable from the young mice, after just one week of treatment,” said lead author Professor David Sinclair of UNSW School of Medical Sciences and Harvard Medical School Boston.
The new work has a far wider effect. The particular dog model they are using has a heart disease issue. Rejuvenate Bio is still semi-stealth mode, incubator mode, but the trial is not a secret. Dogs are a market in and of themselves. It’s not just a big organism close to humans. It’s something people will pay for. And the FDA process is much faster for dogs than for humans — a little over a year versus nine years or so. We’ll do dog trials and that’ll be a product, and that’ll pay for scaling up in human trials.
Dog trials in the next year or two. If that works, human trials are another two years away, and eight years before they’re done.
The scientific work will likely need to develop several treatments to reverse all the different aspects of aging.
Slowing aging is actually tougher to develop and will take longer to prove in humans. It is tougher to develop because tests take longer to run than a post-doc can perform. Postdoctoral research needs to be completable in 4-5 years. Reversing aging experiments fit in that window. Slowing aging experiments on anything more than mice is problematic.
Movie examples of reversing aging
There is the movie example of Benjamin Button who is character who starts old and keeps getting younger.
There was also the movie example in Back to the Future 2.
‘You look good, Doc,’ Marty answered slowly. ‘Real good.’
In the real world it could be 2030 or 2045 instead of 2015 but reversing aging could be how life extension happens.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.
I can just see Luca’s rage over this:
“Billions throughout the world who don’t get decent healthcare while American imperialists spend $XXXX millions per year on antilagathic treaments for their dogs!”
Therefore, I am game with this!
I hope longevity doesn’t do a “battery breakthrough” on us. There appears to be good research and I hope we hit pay-dirt in the next 50 years.
50 Years. You can already get NAD IV infusions at http://www.nadtreatmentcenter.com
The batteries on the market have been steadily improving at about 10% per year for a couple of decades now.
I’d be content with rejuvenation improving at that rate. By the time I was 60 I’d be in my early 20s.
It sound great to see that dogs can get a chance to live longer. I have a staff bull terrier he is starting to show the signs of old age. I am a little worried about his future well being. He is are friend and family member. If the treatment was out in the public domain. I think I would use the treatment on Mex if I could afford it. I would be interested in promoting the treatment as a affiliate ore work commission based selling your services to the public. I have lots of ideas on how I could do this. I then could use the money to purchase mex,s treatment gained from promoting the service. if your company would be interred in using my services to promote and therefore sell your service. Just let me know I would only get pied when someone purchases the service so there would be know pressure ore contract. please let me know your thoughts on the subject. Also please keep me informed of future progress. thank you Stephen
Is there any information on what the intervention that George Church is working on actually is? We can guess it is gene therapy, but what gene?
With regard to David Sinclair’s work on NAD+, Reason over at the Fighaging.org blog takes a dim view on its prospects of achieving much:
https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2017/03/nad-precursor-nmn-improves-dna-repair-in-mice/
” It is still the case that compelling demonstrations of slowed aging or enhanced longevity in laboratory animals have yet to emerge from this line of research, such as via the use of the NAD precursor nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) as a dietary supplement. The research is academically interesting, as here where it is shown to affect DNA repair mechanisms, but from a practical point of view for the treatment of aging this still appears to be another marginal approach, lacking the ability to produce reliable and significant effects on aging and longevity.
https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2016/10/continued-interest-in-nicotinamide-mononucleotide/
” We know that effects on aging in short-lived species are much larger than they are in humans, where there is the data to make direct comparisons of the same method or genetic alteration. The life spans of short-lived species are much more plastic in response to circumstances. Investigations of NMN, like the sirtuin research that led to it, cannot possibly produce large gains in human health. It is somewhat frustrating to see significant time and effort once again be directed towards a line of research in which the potential outcomes are so very limited, analogous to those produced by exercising a little more and eating a little less. Yes, it is more evidence for the importance of mitochondrial function in aging, but in a rational world that should be taken as nothing more than a sign that the research and development communities should put more effort into mitochondrial repair strategies, or the backup approach of allotopic expression so as to completely fix the problem in older individuals, not just slightly slow it down.”
I like RejuvenateBio’s Earn-As-You-Go approach, which is like what Elon Musk has talked about with Tesla and SpaceX. This laddering concept has many benefits. When you get onto the freeway of the marketplace, then you progress faster. You start bringing in revenues faster. You reduce risk by going for the lower-hanging fruit first. It’s surprising Musk doesn’t think that way in relation to Moon-vs-Mars.