Reason
Mon, Apr-19-04, 06:10
LONGEVITY MEME NEWSLETTER April 19 2004
The Longevity Meme Newsletter is a biweekly e-mail containing
news, opinions and happenings for people interested in healthy
life extension: making use of diet, lifestyle choices,
technology and proven medical advances to live healthy, longer
lives. To subscribe or unsubscribe from the Longevity Meme
Newsletter, please visit
http://www.longevitymeme.org/newsletter/.
______________________________
CONTENTS
- Journalists For Longer Healthier Lives
- Do We Sit On Our Hands, or Do We Move Forward?
- Discussion
- Latest Healthy Life Extension News Headlines
JOURNALISTS FOR LONGER, HEALTHIER LIVES
Journalists - in the olden-times media establishment sense
of the word
- have an important part to play in bringing greater
understanding of healthy life extension to the public. As a
practical matter, public support is vital for large scale
medical research funding. It took activism and a groundswell
of public enthusiasm to set priorities like fighting cancer
in the 70s or AIDS and Alzheimer's in the 90s. The same
process must occur to make the fight against aging a modern
research priority. If we wait rather than acting, many more
people will suffer and die from conditions that funded
researchers might have learned to cure.
Few journalists make healthy life extension a priority in
their work right now, sad to say, although many biotech
writers are enthused by the clear potential for science to
deliver longer, healthier lives. I list a few noteworthy
writers at the end of the press page at the Longevity Meme:
http://www.longevitymeme.org/press_room.cfm
At the moment, mainstream journalistic writing on healthy life
extension is sparse. There's a lot more of it than there used
to be - which is a wonderful thing - but far less than there
should be. We all suffer from the degenerative effects of the
aging process, and we should all be interested in doing
something about that.
I've been spending more time of late chatting to journalists:
we have reaching a tipping point in the perception of serious
anti-aging research in biotech media circles, and I can make a
difference by reaching out. You can do this too: journalists
write more on a topic when then they know it is a hot item
that interests readers. When you see a good article in the
press, send the author a polite note to thank them for talking
seriously about issues that are important to you. Offer
constructive criticism and point the author to more resources
(like the Longevity Meme, modesty aside). Feedback is a
powerful tool when talking to the press. It doesn't take many
letters to get a journalist to pay attention to an issue; we
can all do our part to bring more of the press into the
healthy life extension fold.
DO WE SIT ON OUR HANDS, OR DO WE MOVE FORWARD?
I just today noticed a follow-up article at GNN News Network
on human trials for the latest stem cell heart disease
therapy. It has performed well in a previous trial in Brazil -
a trial that had to be held in Brazil because the FDA had
refused to let human trials move forward in the US up until
last month. As one of the earliest working stem cell
therapies, this is more akin to a blood transfusion than
anything else. Bone marrow stem cells are extracted from the
patient and injected back into damaged heart tissue, where
they are left to do whatever it is they do to heal and restore
function. As of the moment, there is some uncertainty over the
mechanism whereby this therapy works, but work it does.
http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/2004/04/16/stem_cel-
l_trial.php
The article ends with a quote from Emerson C. Perin, who took
part in the Brazilian trial and will be leading this latest US
trial: "We have a lot of patients that are marching on towards
end-stage heart failure. Are we going to wait around, sitting
on our hands while we try to figure out what is happening in
mice? Or do we move forward and try to see if this treatment
can help?"
I think that this comment is very relevant for the time we
live in. People around the world are suffering and dying from
disease and age-related conditions in numbers that beggar the
imagination: 150,000 deaths each and every day, 55 million
each and every year. Yet medical research funding is still a
drop in the bucket, and politicians still try to ban the most
promising medical technologies.
A question for all of us, then: do we sit on our hands, or do
we move forward?
http://www.longevitymeme.org/projects/
DISCUSSION
That is all for this issue of the newsletter. The highlights
and headlines from the past two weeks follow below. If you
have comments for us, please do send e-mail to
newsletter@longevitymeme.org.
Remember - if you like this newsletter, the chances are that
your friends will find it useful too. Forward the newsletter
on, or post a copy to your favorite online communities.
Encourage the people you know to pitch in and make a
difference to the future of health and longevity!
Reason reason@longevitymeme.org Founder, Longevity Meme
______________________________
LATEST HEALTHY LIFE EXTENSION HEADLINES
Michael J. Fox On Stem Cell Research (April 18 2004) http://w-
ww.canada.com/calgary/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=7d9f15-
20-0d2a-4459-b73d-48806c79e044 (From the Calgary Herald).
Michael J. Fox, the celebrity face of Parkinson's disease, is
a strong advocate for stem cell research. The Michael J. Fox
Foundation has raised and channelled $35 million toward
Parkinson's research in the past four years, making it the
second-largest funding source after the US government. Studies
have shown that stem cell based therapies have the potential
to provide treatment and a cure for Parkinson's and other
neurodegenerative conditions. Speaking about anti-research
legislation, existing and planned, Fox says "to limit or
disallow that avenue of research is fundamentally wrong."
Cryonics In Australia (April 18 2004) http://news.com.au/comm-
on/story_page/0,4057,9305496%255E2765,00.html news.com.au is
carrying a pleasant human interest article on cryonicists in
Australia who make use of US cryopreservation services such as
Alcor or the Cryonics Institute. The sixth Australian to be
cryopreserved was apparently frozen earlier this month. As the
main subject of the artilce says: "Death seems like a big
nothing and I want to see what humans get up to over the
coming centuries. That would be fascinating." Those of us who
see cryonics as a backup plan are placing at least some of our
near-term hopes for healthy life extension in medical advances
relating to regenerative medicine.
More Than One Million Signatures (April 17 2004) http://www.m-
ercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/health/8454341.htm?1c
(From the Mercury News). The well-funded California Stem Cell
Research and Cures Initiative has gathered more than one
million signatures and the organizers seem confident of a
place in the November state ballot. The proposal would direct
$3 billion in state funding over the next 10 years towards
regulated stem cell research at California universities. Given
the timing of the US presidential elections, and the candidate
positions on stem cell medicine, this may become an important
referendum. It isn't on the ballot yet, however, and the
Initiative organizers continue to need your support and
assistance.
Progress Towards Alzheimer's Vaccine (April 17 2004) http://w-
ww.canada.com/health/story.html?id=1ADE4B62-E49F-4040-B971-7B-
1F0788D78F Canada.com reports on progress towards a functional
vaccine for Alzheimer's. A promising candidate - one that
attacks the brain-damaging plaques called beta amyloid - is
entering phase II trials. A quote: "I think the total data is
very encouraging, but we still have clinical development to
go. I feel bullish about it ultimately working and I'm hopeful
that it will." A cure for Alzheimer's - and other inevitable
age-related degenerative brain conditions - is vital to
healthy life extension efforts. With continuing support and
funding, we can hope to see breakthroughs in this and many
other fields of medicine in years to come.
A Look At Aging Research (April 16 2004) http://www.rockymou-
ntainnews.com/drmn/health_and_fitness/article/0,1299,DRMN_26-
_2801012,00.html The Rocky Mountain News article opens an
article on aging science with an noteworthy factoid: every
seven seconds, a baby boomer turns 50. That's a lot of buying
power potentially interested in healthy life extension. The
article looks at the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging
and other research aimed at understanding how the aging
process works. It is possible that there is no unified aging
process at all,
i.e. aging is a collection of as yet unidentified degenerative
conditions. Calorie restriction as a tool for extending
the healthy human life span gets a good mention or two
before the author closes with a look at the noisy
"anti-aging" marketplace and opinions from the
gerontology community. All in all, the article is an
interesting read.
Creating Very Old People (April 16 2004)
http://healthfullife.umdnj.edu/index2.htm An interesting
symposium is taking place at the end of the month in New
Jersey. A number of scientists and speakers are gathering to
discuss the possibilities of longevity research and the
implications for "society." As I see it, people who live much
longer, much healthier lives will just adapt, make new
customs, and throw out bad old rules from the bad old times of
age-related disease and decrepitude. The concept of "society"
being an entity somehow separate from the well-being of
individuals who make it up has always struck me as strange -
especially when it is used to justify harming those
individuals by withholding medicine or banning research.
Leon Kass, Mystic (April 15 2004)
http://www.fightaging.org/archives/000084.php I have posted my
comments on the recent SAGE Crossroads interview with Leon
Kass of the President's Council on Bioethics to the Fight
Aging! blog. I think it's a pity that Morton Kondrake didn't
pin Kass down on the consequences and costs of the policies he
supports, nor did he chase up the hints of support for
government-mandated upper limits on life span. It's very
worrying to see these sorts of ideas being tossed around by
someone in this position - the head of a deliberative body
that issues reports used by the US administration as
justification for restrictive anti-research legislation.
More On Yoda (April 15 2004) http://www.betterhumans.com/News-
/news.aspx?articleID=2004-04-14-3 Betterhumans has more on
Yoda, the world's oldest living mouse, and the breeding
experiment conducted by Richard Miller. Aubrey de Grey,
cofounder of the Methuselah Mouse Prize, adds his comments on
Yoda. This work isn't as directly relevant to healthy life
extension as we'd like: we are in greater need of ways to
reverse aging rather than ways to genetically alter future
generations to age more slowly. Professor Miller's research
program will provide important information on the way in which
hormones interact with the aging process and age-related
conditions - in many ways we are still very much in the dark
regarding important human biochemistry.
Adult Stem Cell Progress (April 14 2004)
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994873 (From
the New Scientist). A California researcher has demonstrated
that adult stem cells obtained from body fat can grow new
tissue as well as bone marrow stem cells, at least in mice.
This is the first time that fat stem cells have been
demonstrated to heal an injury. In this case they were used to
grow new bone, although other studies have indicated that
these adult stem cells could be used to grow other forms of
tissue as well. Fat is considerably easier to harvest than
bone marrow, raising the possibility of "therapeutic
liposuction" as a precursor to regenerative therapies.
Difficult bone marrow transplants may be a thing of the past
in years to come.
Innovation On PBS (April 14 2004)
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/innovation/about_episode6.html The
sixth episode of the PBS science series "Innovation" will
discuss stem cell research and some of the strides in
treatment for nerve and heart damage that have been made
already outside the US. As one doctor says: "I've never seen
recovery like this in 25 years of practice ... I can tell my
patients they may walk again, rather than saying life from a
wheel chair can be good." Meanwhile, inside the US, a
still-pending senate bill threatens to criminalize research
essential to stem cell medicine, and private funding has been
scared away by legislative uncertainty. If we want to see
better medicine and longer, healthier lives, we must support
researchers and fight bad legislation.
Longevity And Enforced Retirement (April 14 2004) http://www.-
sagecrossroads.net/public/news/show_article.cfm?articleID=57
Compulsory retirement laws are an obnoxious practice - one has
to wonder just when it was that personal choice in life and
work became so disreputable. This SAGE Crossroads article
examines retirement laws from the point of view of aging
researchers and the future of human longevity: "As human life
spans continue to rise, researchers say that the rules
regarding retirement must keep pace." I have a better idea ...
why not just throw out the rules and let people work if they
want to? After all, the sort of healthy, long-lived future
envisaged by biogerontologists like Aubrey de Grey would make
retirement laws look quaint and useless.
The Drugs Are Getting Better (April 13 2004) http://www.bette-
rhumans.com/News/news.aspx?articleID=2004-04-12-3 Betterhumans
notes that Pfizer is already developing a drug to mimic the
effects of a known longevity gene on high density lipoprotein
(HDL, or "good" cholesterol). You may recall news items from
last year on that topic. Of course it remains to be seen as to
whether this new drug has the desired effect on longevity and
resistance to heart disease. Still, it's a sign that greater
understanding and new technology across the research spectrum
is leading to better drug development. It is becoming easier
with each passing year to identify beneficial effects and more
rapidly find drug candidates that will cause those effects. We
are - slowly - moving out of the era of pulling levers in the
dark, and into an era of acting on knowledge.
Working On Advanced Regeneration (April 13 2004)
http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=412012004 The
Scotsman reports on a DARPA project to investigate
regeneration of major organs and body parts. Lizards and many
other animals can regenerate in this way, but humans have
more limited capabilities (although even we can regenerate a
90% damaged liver). As one scientist says: "This is doable -
I believe it is inevitable that we will regenerate an entire
human limb." Whether or not it will happen through this
methodology of investigating and replicating regeneration
mechanisms in animals - rather than branches of regenerative
medicine relating to stem cells or tissue engineering -
remains to be seen.
More Calorie Restriction In The News (April 12 2004)
http://rdu.news14.com/content/headlines/?ArID=45615&SecID=2 A
positive, realistic article on calorie restriction (or CR) has
been showing up in local news outlets over the past few days.
Nice to see the topic getting more airtime of late. An
enthusiastic run on sentence from the article: "The baby boom
generation wants it all so we want to live longer than our
parents' generation and if calorie restriction will do it, I
think that people will try calorie restriction." While science
is still working on determining whether CR does extend the
human life span in the same way that it does in other mammals,
there is ample evidence proving its health benefits -
including improved resistance to age-related disease.
The Oldest Mouse (April 12 2004)
http://www.med.umich.edu/opm/newspage/2004/yoda.htm The
world's oldest mouse - called Yoda - is four years old and
still going, the equivalent of about about 136 years in a
human. Yoda is a part of a breeding experiment carried out to
study the way in which genes and hormones affect the rate of
human aging and risks of disease late in life. As the founders
of the Methuselah Mouse prize realized, healthy life extension
in mice is a yardstick by which the public measures
possibilities for the future of human health and longevity.
Long-lived mice will mean that long-lived people are not too
far off. Aubrey de Grey thinks that we could largely defeat
aging in mice in a decade, given the right level of funding -
certainly food for thought.
Olshansky And De Grey On Life Expectancy (April 11 2004) http-
://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/nation/8407367.h-
tm The Contra Costa Times presents a summary of the opposing
views on lengthening life expectancy in modern gerontology. In
the conservative camp is Jay Olshansky, who believes that
extending the healthy human life span is not a near-future
possibility. On the other side is Aubrey de Grey, who has
developed a plan for radical life extension in our lifetimes.
Olshansky's viewpoint is used to justify the lack of funding
for serious anti-aging research - thus it is in danger of
becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. De Grey's science is
sound: if we don't do the research, how will we know for sure
what is possible?
Knowledge Is Power In Medicine (April 11 2004)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3610677.stm Scientists are
closer to fully understanding the mechanisms of cell death in
the body, an important development for researchers working on
therapies for a range of diseases and conditions, including
cancer and Parkinson's. This BBC article is an interesting
read, and a reminder that we are still a long way from an
understanding of human biochemistry sufficient for all we
would like to accomplish in medicine. Knowledge is power; with
knowledge, we can craft therapies and defeat disease. This
research is early stage work, but it is in an area of great
relevance for those of us interested in healthy life extension
and better medicine.
Materials Science And Artificial Body Parts (April 10 2004)
http://www.azonano.com/news.asp?newsID=107 AZoNano notes that
nanoscale materials science is helping to produce better
implants and artificial replacements for body parts. The field
of prosthetics competes with regenerative medicine to better
repair age-related damage. Here, we see advances in developing
materials that will better integrate with tissue in the body.
If you can get an artificial hip that is stronger than
titanium, bonds more completely with surrounding tissue, and
never wears out, why would you want to just regenerate the old
bone structures? New materials like these raise interesting
possibilities for ways in which we can extend the durability
and age-resistance of our bodies.
Illinois Legislators Debating Stem Cells (April 10 2004) http-
://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/national/8368974.ht-
m?1c The Miami Herald reports that Illinois politicians are
debating stem cell research. This growing field of medicine
shows great promise for healthy life extension by allowing
repair of the damage caused by aging and age-related
conditions. Bad legislation causes great harm to public and
private research. For example: "There is now an inability in
the state of Iowa to recruit scientists who want to do human
therapeutic cloning, and economic development in this field
has been completely compromised." While progress towards cures
is held back by legislators and special interest groups, tens
of millions continue to suffer and die.
Replacing Bone Marrow Donors (April 09 2004) http://www.bette-
rhumans.com/News/news.aspx?articleID=2004-04-05-3 As
Betterhumans explains, embryonic stem cell medicine has now
shown the potential to eliminate the need for genetically
matched bone marrow donors. This would be a tremendous advance
in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, lukemia, and similar
disorders. We can hope that as more advances like this are
demonstrated, politicians will find it increasingly hard to
ban the technologies required for stem cell research.
Regenerative medicine based on stem cells is a vital step in
the process of bootstrapping towards radical life extension,
and we shouldn't stand by while it is under attack. The future
of our health and longevity depends on this research.
An Interview With Aubrey De Grey (April 09 2004) http://www.t-
echnologyreview.com/articles/wo_appell040904.asp?trk=nl The
Technology Review is running an interview with Aubrey de Grey,
biogerontologist and cofounder of the Methuselah Mouse Prize
for anti-aging research. In addition to some interesting
comments on potential life spans in an ageless world, the
conversation touches on the importance of attaining impressive
results in radical life extension for mice. These
demonstrations of practical life extension technologies will
lead to widespread support and understanding - and thus open
the funding floodgates. Will this all happen in time for those
of us reading this today? I'll be the first to admit that,
unlike Aubrey de Grey, I'm very driven by my own personal
stake in the matter. The sooner the better!
Another General Interest Article (April 08 2004)
http://www.wsoctv.com/health/2985516/detail.html Here's
another general interest article from a mainstream news
outlet (WSOCTV.com in this case). It briefly covers
increasing life spans, healthy life extension science,
calorie restriction and why excess weight is bad for you. As
the author notes: "While many people have searched for the
fountain of youth, significant life extension continues to be
an elusive goal." All it will take is the right (high) level
of funding, widespread support and the will to succeed. I am
always heartened to see media outlets treating the topic of
healthy life extension seriously. It indicates that we're
making progress.
CBS On Calorie Restriction (April 08 2004) http://www.cbsnews-
.com/stories/2004/04/07/eveningnews/main610778.shtml A short
piece on calorie restriction from CBS went out on the air
yesterday. It's good to see more positive mainstream articles
appearing this year. Realizing that the healthy human life
span can be extended at all is a large step for many people,
and this sort of media coverage is very helpful in that
respect. Learning about calorie restriction can be a good
gateway into the wider healthy life extension community - not
to mention being demonstrably good for your health. Getting
more people to think seriously about these ideas is a vital
step on the way to funding, researching and developing real
anti-aging medicine.
Cracking The Genetic Code Of Aging (April 07 2004)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3607855.stm The BBC reports
on a new study into the genetics of natural longevity. This
Italian team says that "once they have found the genes which
govern ageing, they hope to develop medicines which allow
people to stay healthy for longer." Genetic studies of
long-lived people are already producing results in the US, and
should continue to shed light on new directions for research.
Effective therapies result from an understanding the condition
under treatment, and advances in medical research technology
are proving their worth in this respect. Scientists today have
a vastly greater understanding of genetics and cellular
biochemistry than they did just five years ago. We live in
interesting times!
Gene Links Cancer And Aging (April 07 2004) http://www.better-
humans.com/News/news.aspx?articleID=2004-04-06-2 Betterhumans
reports on recent research that provides another insight into
the genetic links between cancer and aging. A longevity gene
essential for tissue repair is also essential to cancer, or so
it seems. This initial study suggests that removing the gene
in mice prevents tumors from developing (but no doubt has
undesirable effects on healthy life span). That should get you
all thinking, but here's some speculation from the scientist
involved: "Perhaps aging is just an unintended byproduct of an
adaptive mechanism to stave off cancer and certain death.
Perhaps aging is just nature's way of attacking cancer."
if. Fossel On Reversing Aging (April 06 2004)
http://www.statenews.com/article.phtml?pk=23413 A piece
from the State News reminds us that Dr. Michael Fossel (a
proponent of telomere theories of aging) has a new book
coming out this June. He is an advocate of research into
cellular processes, aimed at slowing and reversing the
aging process. Remember: there is no way to reverse aging
or greatly extend the healthy human life span at this
time, although scientific studies strongly support calorie
restriction as a path to more healthy years. This is why
we must advocate and support serious medical research in
the fight to cure aging. More scientists are starting to
look seriously at healthy life extension these days; if
funding and public support come through, then it becomes
only a matter of time.
Swiss Anti-Research Referendum To Be Held (April 06 2004) htt-
p://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040406-101659-7077r.htm
The Washington Times notes that opponents of embryonic stem
cell research in Switzerland have gathered enough signatures
for a national referendum aimed at banning this medical
science. The continuing attempts to halt research that
promises near-term cures for all the most common age-related
conditions, as well as a host of other currently incurable
diseases, is saddening. How is it that people can put small
unthinking, unfeeling collections of less than a hundred cells
ahead of the terrible suffering of hundreds of millions
worldwide? Anti-research groups are well organized and have
been winning great victories in the US and Europe - our side
must do better if we want to see a longer, healthier future
thanks to regenerative medicine.
Smoking Isn't A Smart Idea Either (April 05 2004)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/8358259.htm
While we're on the subject of taking care of the basics,
here's a study (reported in the Contra Costa Times) showing
that smoking accelerates age-related mental decline - in
addition to all the other ways in which it damages you. From
the article: "The most likely explanation of why smoking
causes cognitive decline is its effect on blood vessels in the
brain. It is believed that smoking causes vascular damage,
which, in turn, leads to the death of brain cells." Most
people wouldn't treat a car as badly as they treat their own
bodies ... but staying in shape is vital if you want to be
alive and healthy enough to take advantage of the future of
medical science.
Obesity, Exercise, Diet and Cancer (April 05 2004) http://new-
site.lef.org/news/disease/2004/04/05/eng-2dayuk/eng-2dayuk_08-
0137_1171895096844251094.html (From the LEF News). This is
something that is worth repeating, it seems: the combination
of excess weight, poor diet and lack of exercise is the
leading cause of cancer in the US. If you are overweight, the
best thing you can do for your natural longevity (and future
health, not to mention cutting your healthcare expenditures)
is to change your lifestyle to lose weight. For the vast
majority of people, this is as simple as eating a sensible
diet that is lower in calories and getting enough exercise. If
you want to be around to benefit from the anti-aging medicine
of the future, you have to take care of the basics now!
______________________________
If you have comments for us, please do send e-mail to
newsletter@longevitymeme.org.
The Longevity Meme Newsletter is a biweekly e-mail containing
news, opinions and happenings for people interested in healthy
life extension: making use of diet, lifestyle choices,
technology and proven medical advances to live healthy, longer
lives. To subscribe or unsubscribe from the Longevity Meme
Newsletter, please visit
http://www.longevitymeme.org/newsletter/.
______________________________
CONTENTS
- Journalists For Longer Healthier Lives
- Do We Sit On Our Hands, or Do We Move Forward?
- Discussion
- Latest Healthy Life Extension News Headlines
JOURNALISTS FOR LONGER, HEALTHIER LIVES
Journalists - in the olden-times media establishment sense
of the word
- have an important part to play in bringing greater
understanding of healthy life extension to the public. As a
practical matter, public support is vital for large scale
medical research funding. It took activism and a groundswell
of public enthusiasm to set priorities like fighting cancer
in the 70s or AIDS and Alzheimer's in the 90s. The same
process must occur to make the fight against aging a modern
research priority. If we wait rather than acting, many more
people will suffer and die from conditions that funded
researchers might have learned to cure.
Few journalists make healthy life extension a priority in
their work right now, sad to say, although many biotech
writers are enthused by the clear potential for science to
deliver longer, healthier lives. I list a few noteworthy
writers at the end of the press page at the Longevity Meme:
http://www.longevitymeme.org/press_room.cfm
At the moment, mainstream journalistic writing on healthy life
extension is sparse. There's a lot more of it than there used
to be - which is a wonderful thing - but far less than there
should be. We all suffer from the degenerative effects of the
aging process, and we should all be interested in doing
something about that.
I've been spending more time of late chatting to journalists:
we have reaching a tipping point in the perception of serious
anti-aging research in biotech media circles, and I can make a
difference by reaching out. You can do this too: journalists
write more on a topic when then they know it is a hot item
that interests readers. When you see a good article in the
press, send the author a polite note to thank them for talking
seriously about issues that are important to you. Offer
constructive criticism and point the author to more resources
(like the Longevity Meme, modesty aside). Feedback is a
powerful tool when talking to the press. It doesn't take many
letters to get a journalist to pay attention to an issue; we
can all do our part to bring more of the press into the
healthy life extension fold.
DO WE SIT ON OUR HANDS, OR DO WE MOVE FORWARD?
I just today noticed a follow-up article at GNN News Network
on human trials for the latest stem cell heart disease
therapy. It has performed well in a previous trial in Brazil -
a trial that had to be held in Brazil because the FDA had
refused to let human trials move forward in the US up until
last month. As one of the earliest working stem cell
therapies, this is more akin to a blood transfusion than
anything else. Bone marrow stem cells are extracted from the
patient and injected back into damaged heart tissue, where
they are left to do whatever it is they do to heal and restore
function. As of the moment, there is some uncertainty over the
mechanism whereby this therapy works, but work it does.
http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/2004/04/16/stem_cel-
l_trial.php
The article ends with a quote from Emerson C. Perin, who took
part in the Brazilian trial and will be leading this latest US
trial: "We have a lot of patients that are marching on towards
end-stage heart failure. Are we going to wait around, sitting
on our hands while we try to figure out what is happening in
mice? Or do we move forward and try to see if this treatment
can help?"
I think that this comment is very relevant for the time we
live in. People around the world are suffering and dying from
disease and age-related conditions in numbers that beggar the
imagination: 150,000 deaths each and every day, 55 million
each and every year. Yet medical research funding is still a
drop in the bucket, and politicians still try to ban the most
promising medical technologies.
A question for all of us, then: do we sit on our hands, or do
we move forward?
http://www.longevitymeme.org/projects/
DISCUSSION
That is all for this issue of the newsletter. The highlights
and headlines from the past two weeks follow below. If you
have comments for us, please do send e-mail to
newsletter@longevitymeme.org.
Remember - if you like this newsletter, the chances are that
your friends will find it useful too. Forward the newsletter
on, or post a copy to your favorite online communities.
Encourage the people you know to pitch in and make a
difference to the future of health and longevity!
Reason reason@longevitymeme.org Founder, Longevity Meme
______________________________
LATEST HEALTHY LIFE EXTENSION HEADLINES
Michael J. Fox On Stem Cell Research (April 18 2004) http://w-
ww.canada.com/calgary/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=7d9f15-
20-0d2a-4459-b73d-48806c79e044 (From the Calgary Herald).
Michael J. Fox, the celebrity face of Parkinson's disease, is
a strong advocate for stem cell research. The Michael J. Fox
Foundation has raised and channelled $35 million toward
Parkinson's research in the past four years, making it the
second-largest funding source after the US government. Studies
have shown that stem cell based therapies have the potential
to provide treatment and a cure for Parkinson's and other
neurodegenerative conditions. Speaking about anti-research
legislation, existing and planned, Fox says "to limit or
disallow that avenue of research is fundamentally wrong."
Cryonics In Australia (April 18 2004) http://news.com.au/comm-
on/story_page/0,4057,9305496%255E2765,00.html news.com.au is
carrying a pleasant human interest article on cryonicists in
Australia who make use of US cryopreservation services such as
Alcor or the Cryonics Institute. The sixth Australian to be
cryopreserved was apparently frozen earlier this month. As the
main subject of the artilce says: "Death seems like a big
nothing and I want to see what humans get up to over the
coming centuries. That would be fascinating." Those of us who
see cryonics as a backup plan are placing at least some of our
near-term hopes for healthy life extension in medical advances
relating to regenerative medicine.
More Than One Million Signatures (April 17 2004) http://www.m-
ercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/health/8454341.htm?1c
(From the Mercury News). The well-funded California Stem Cell
Research and Cures Initiative has gathered more than one
million signatures and the organizers seem confident of a
place in the November state ballot. The proposal would direct
$3 billion in state funding over the next 10 years towards
regulated stem cell research at California universities. Given
the timing of the US presidential elections, and the candidate
positions on stem cell medicine, this may become an important
referendum. It isn't on the ballot yet, however, and the
Initiative organizers continue to need your support and
assistance.
Progress Towards Alzheimer's Vaccine (April 17 2004) http://w-
ww.canada.com/health/story.html?id=1ADE4B62-E49F-4040-B971-7B-
1F0788D78F Canada.com reports on progress towards a functional
vaccine for Alzheimer's. A promising candidate - one that
attacks the brain-damaging plaques called beta amyloid - is
entering phase II trials. A quote: "I think the total data is
very encouraging, but we still have clinical development to
go. I feel bullish about it ultimately working and I'm hopeful
that it will." A cure for Alzheimer's - and other inevitable
age-related degenerative brain conditions - is vital to
healthy life extension efforts. With continuing support and
funding, we can hope to see breakthroughs in this and many
other fields of medicine in years to come.
A Look At Aging Research (April 16 2004) http://www.rockymou-
ntainnews.com/drmn/health_and_fitness/article/0,1299,DRMN_26-
_2801012,00.html The Rocky Mountain News article opens an
article on aging science with an noteworthy factoid: every
seven seconds, a baby boomer turns 50. That's a lot of buying
power potentially interested in healthy life extension. The
article looks at the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging
and other research aimed at understanding how the aging
process works. It is possible that there is no unified aging
process at all,
i.e. aging is a collection of as yet unidentified degenerative
conditions. Calorie restriction as a tool for extending
the healthy human life span gets a good mention or two
before the author closes with a look at the noisy
"anti-aging" marketplace and opinions from the
gerontology community. All in all, the article is an
interesting read.
Creating Very Old People (April 16 2004)
http://healthfullife.umdnj.edu/index2.htm An interesting
symposium is taking place at the end of the month in New
Jersey. A number of scientists and speakers are gathering to
discuss the possibilities of longevity research and the
implications for "society." As I see it, people who live much
longer, much healthier lives will just adapt, make new
customs, and throw out bad old rules from the bad old times of
age-related disease and decrepitude. The concept of "society"
being an entity somehow separate from the well-being of
individuals who make it up has always struck me as strange -
especially when it is used to justify harming those
individuals by withholding medicine or banning research.
Leon Kass, Mystic (April 15 2004)
http://www.fightaging.org/archives/000084.php I have posted my
comments on the recent SAGE Crossroads interview with Leon
Kass of the President's Council on Bioethics to the Fight
Aging! blog. I think it's a pity that Morton Kondrake didn't
pin Kass down on the consequences and costs of the policies he
supports, nor did he chase up the hints of support for
government-mandated upper limits on life span. It's very
worrying to see these sorts of ideas being tossed around by
someone in this position - the head of a deliberative body
that issues reports used by the US administration as
justification for restrictive anti-research legislation.
More On Yoda (April 15 2004) http://www.betterhumans.com/News-
/news.aspx?articleID=2004-04-14-3 Betterhumans has more on
Yoda, the world's oldest living mouse, and the breeding
experiment conducted by Richard Miller. Aubrey de Grey,
cofounder of the Methuselah Mouse Prize, adds his comments on
Yoda. This work isn't as directly relevant to healthy life
extension as we'd like: we are in greater need of ways to
reverse aging rather than ways to genetically alter future
generations to age more slowly. Professor Miller's research
program will provide important information on the way in which
hormones interact with the aging process and age-related
conditions - in many ways we are still very much in the dark
regarding important human biochemistry.
Adult Stem Cell Progress (April 14 2004)
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994873 (From
the New Scientist). A California researcher has demonstrated
that adult stem cells obtained from body fat can grow new
tissue as well as bone marrow stem cells, at least in mice.
This is the first time that fat stem cells have been
demonstrated to heal an injury. In this case they were used to
grow new bone, although other studies have indicated that
these adult stem cells could be used to grow other forms of
tissue as well. Fat is considerably easier to harvest than
bone marrow, raising the possibility of "therapeutic
liposuction" as a precursor to regenerative therapies.
Difficult bone marrow transplants may be a thing of the past
in years to come.
Innovation On PBS (April 14 2004)
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/innovation/about_episode6.html The
sixth episode of the PBS science series "Innovation" will
discuss stem cell research and some of the strides in
treatment for nerve and heart damage that have been made
already outside the US. As one doctor says: "I've never seen
recovery like this in 25 years of practice ... I can tell my
patients they may walk again, rather than saying life from a
wheel chair can be good." Meanwhile, inside the US, a
still-pending senate bill threatens to criminalize research
essential to stem cell medicine, and private funding has been
scared away by legislative uncertainty. If we want to see
better medicine and longer, healthier lives, we must support
researchers and fight bad legislation.
Longevity And Enforced Retirement (April 14 2004) http://www.-
sagecrossroads.net/public/news/show_article.cfm?articleID=57
Compulsory retirement laws are an obnoxious practice - one has
to wonder just when it was that personal choice in life and
work became so disreputable. This SAGE Crossroads article
examines retirement laws from the point of view of aging
researchers and the future of human longevity: "As human life
spans continue to rise, researchers say that the rules
regarding retirement must keep pace." I have a better idea ...
why not just throw out the rules and let people work if they
want to? After all, the sort of healthy, long-lived future
envisaged by biogerontologists like Aubrey de Grey would make
retirement laws look quaint and useless.
The Drugs Are Getting Better (April 13 2004) http://www.bette-
rhumans.com/News/news.aspx?articleID=2004-04-12-3 Betterhumans
notes that Pfizer is already developing a drug to mimic the
effects of a known longevity gene on high density lipoprotein
(HDL, or "good" cholesterol). You may recall news items from
last year on that topic. Of course it remains to be seen as to
whether this new drug has the desired effect on longevity and
resistance to heart disease. Still, it's a sign that greater
understanding and new technology across the research spectrum
is leading to better drug development. It is becoming easier
with each passing year to identify beneficial effects and more
rapidly find drug candidates that will cause those effects. We
are - slowly - moving out of the era of pulling levers in the
dark, and into an era of acting on knowledge.
Working On Advanced Regeneration (April 13 2004)
http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=412012004 The
Scotsman reports on a DARPA project to investigate
regeneration of major organs and body parts. Lizards and many
other animals can regenerate in this way, but humans have
more limited capabilities (although even we can regenerate a
90% damaged liver). As one scientist says: "This is doable -
I believe it is inevitable that we will regenerate an entire
human limb." Whether or not it will happen through this
methodology of investigating and replicating regeneration
mechanisms in animals - rather than branches of regenerative
medicine relating to stem cells or tissue engineering -
remains to be seen.
More Calorie Restriction In The News (April 12 2004)
http://rdu.news14.com/content/headlines/?ArID=45615&SecID=2 A
positive, realistic article on calorie restriction (or CR) has
been showing up in local news outlets over the past few days.
Nice to see the topic getting more airtime of late. An
enthusiastic run on sentence from the article: "The baby boom
generation wants it all so we want to live longer than our
parents' generation and if calorie restriction will do it, I
think that people will try calorie restriction." While science
is still working on determining whether CR does extend the
human life span in the same way that it does in other mammals,
there is ample evidence proving its health benefits -
including improved resistance to age-related disease.
The Oldest Mouse (April 12 2004)
http://www.med.umich.edu/opm/newspage/2004/yoda.htm The
world's oldest mouse - called Yoda - is four years old and
still going, the equivalent of about about 136 years in a
human. Yoda is a part of a breeding experiment carried out to
study the way in which genes and hormones affect the rate of
human aging and risks of disease late in life. As the founders
of the Methuselah Mouse prize realized, healthy life extension
in mice is a yardstick by which the public measures
possibilities for the future of human health and longevity.
Long-lived mice will mean that long-lived people are not too
far off. Aubrey de Grey thinks that we could largely defeat
aging in mice in a decade, given the right level of funding -
certainly food for thought.
Olshansky And De Grey On Life Expectancy (April 11 2004) http-
://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/nation/8407367.h-
tm The Contra Costa Times presents a summary of the opposing
views on lengthening life expectancy in modern gerontology. In
the conservative camp is Jay Olshansky, who believes that
extending the healthy human life span is not a near-future
possibility. On the other side is Aubrey de Grey, who has
developed a plan for radical life extension in our lifetimes.
Olshansky's viewpoint is used to justify the lack of funding
for serious anti-aging research - thus it is in danger of
becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. De Grey's science is
sound: if we don't do the research, how will we know for sure
what is possible?
Knowledge Is Power In Medicine (April 11 2004)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3610677.stm Scientists are
closer to fully understanding the mechanisms of cell death in
the body, an important development for researchers working on
therapies for a range of diseases and conditions, including
cancer and Parkinson's. This BBC article is an interesting
read, and a reminder that we are still a long way from an
understanding of human biochemistry sufficient for all we
would like to accomplish in medicine. Knowledge is power; with
knowledge, we can craft therapies and defeat disease. This
research is early stage work, but it is in an area of great
relevance for those of us interested in healthy life extension
and better medicine.
Materials Science And Artificial Body Parts (April 10 2004)
http://www.azonano.com/news.asp?newsID=107 AZoNano notes that
nanoscale materials science is helping to produce better
implants and artificial replacements for body parts. The field
of prosthetics competes with regenerative medicine to better
repair age-related damage. Here, we see advances in developing
materials that will better integrate with tissue in the body.
If you can get an artificial hip that is stronger than
titanium, bonds more completely with surrounding tissue, and
never wears out, why would you want to just regenerate the old
bone structures? New materials like these raise interesting
possibilities for ways in which we can extend the durability
and age-resistance of our bodies.
Illinois Legislators Debating Stem Cells (April 10 2004) http-
://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/national/8368974.ht-
m?1c The Miami Herald reports that Illinois politicians are
debating stem cell research. This growing field of medicine
shows great promise for healthy life extension by allowing
repair of the damage caused by aging and age-related
conditions. Bad legislation causes great harm to public and
private research. For example: "There is now an inability in
the state of Iowa to recruit scientists who want to do human
therapeutic cloning, and economic development in this field
has been completely compromised." While progress towards cures
is held back by legislators and special interest groups, tens
of millions continue to suffer and die.
Replacing Bone Marrow Donors (April 09 2004) http://www.bette-
rhumans.com/News/news.aspx?articleID=2004-04-05-3 As
Betterhumans explains, embryonic stem cell medicine has now
shown the potential to eliminate the need for genetically
matched bone marrow donors. This would be a tremendous advance
in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, lukemia, and similar
disorders. We can hope that as more advances like this are
demonstrated, politicians will find it increasingly hard to
ban the technologies required for stem cell research.
Regenerative medicine based on stem cells is a vital step in
the process of bootstrapping towards radical life extension,
and we shouldn't stand by while it is under attack. The future
of our health and longevity depends on this research.
An Interview With Aubrey De Grey (April 09 2004) http://www.t-
echnologyreview.com/articles/wo_appell040904.asp?trk=nl The
Technology Review is running an interview with Aubrey de Grey,
biogerontologist and cofounder of the Methuselah Mouse Prize
for anti-aging research. In addition to some interesting
comments on potential life spans in an ageless world, the
conversation touches on the importance of attaining impressive
results in radical life extension for mice. These
demonstrations of practical life extension technologies will
lead to widespread support and understanding - and thus open
the funding floodgates. Will this all happen in time for those
of us reading this today? I'll be the first to admit that,
unlike Aubrey de Grey, I'm very driven by my own personal
stake in the matter. The sooner the better!
Another General Interest Article (April 08 2004)
http://www.wsoctv.com/health/2985516/detail.html Here's
another general interest article from a mainstream news
outlet (WSOCTV.com in this case). It briefly covers
increasing life spans, healthy life extension science,
calorie restriction and why excess weight is bad for you. As
the author notes: "While many people have searched for the
fountain of youth, significant life extension continues to be
an elusive goal." All it will take is the right (high) level
of funding, widespread support and the will to succeed. I am
always heartened to see media outlets treating the topic of
healthy life extension seriously. It indicates that we're
making progress.
CBS On Calorie Restriction (April 08 2004) http://www.cbsnews-
.com/stories/2004/04/07/eveningnews/main610778.shtml A short
piece on calorie restriction from CBS went out on the air
yesterday. It's good to see more positive mainstream articles
appearing this year. Realizing that the healthy human life
span can be extended at all is a large step for many people,
and this sort of media coverage is very helpful in that
respect. Learning about calorie restriction can be a good
gateway into the wider healthy life extension community - not
to mention being demonstrably good for your health. Getting
more people to think seriously about these ideas is a vital
step on the way to funding, researching and developing real
anti-aging medicine.
Cracking The Genetic Code Of Aging (April 07 2004)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3607855.stm The BBC reports
on a new study into the genetics of natural longevity. This
Italian team says that "once they have found the genes which
govern ageing, they hope to develop medicines which allow
people to stay healthy for longer." Genetic studies of
long-lived people are already producing results in the US, and
should continue to shed light on new directions for research.
Effective therapies result from an understanding the condition
under treatment, and advances in medical research technology
are proving their worth in this respect. Scientists today have
a vastly greater understanding of genetics and cellular
biochemistry than they did just five years ago. We live in
interesting times!
Gene Links Cancer And Aging (April 07 2004) http://www.better-
humans.com/News/news.aspx?articleID=2004-04-06-2 Betterhumans
reports on recent research that provides another insight into
the genetic links between cancer and aging. A longevity gene
essential for tissue repair is also essential to cancer, or so
it seems. This initial study suggests that removing the gene
in mice prevents tumors from developing (but no doubt has
undesirable effects on healthy life span). That should get you
all thinking, but here's some speculation from the scientist
involved: "Perhaps aging is just an unintended byproduct of an
adaptive mechanism to stave off cancer and certain death.
Perhaps aging is just nature's way of attacking cancer."
if. Fossel On Reversing Aging (April 06 2004)
http://www.statenews.com/article.phtml?pk=23413 A piece
from the State News reminds us that Dr. Michael Fossel (a
proponent of telomere theories of aging) has a new book
coming out this June. He is an advocate of research into
cellular processes, aimed at slowing and reversing the
aging process. Remember: there is no way to reverse aging
or greatly extend the healthy human life span at this
time, although scientific studies strongly support calorie
restriction as a path to more healthy years. This is why
we must advocate and support serious medical research in
the fight to cure aging. More scientists are starting to
look seriously at healthy life extension these days; if
funding and public support come through, then it becomes
only a matter of time.
Swiss Anti-Research Referendum To Be Held (April 06 2004) htt-
p://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040406-101659-7077r.htm
The Washington Times notes that opponents of embryonic stem
cell research in Switzerland have gathered enough signatures
for a national referendum aimed at banning this medical
science. The continuing attempts to halt research that
promises near-term cures for all the most common age-related
conditions, as well as a host of other currently incurable
diseases, is saddening. How is it that people can put small
unthinking, unfeeling collections of less than a hundred cells
ahead of the terrible suffering of hundreds of millions
worldwide? Anti-research groups are well organized and have
been winning great victories in the US and Europe - our side
must do better if we want to see a longer, healthier future
thanks to regenerative medicine.
Smoking Isn't A Smart Idea Either (April 05 2004)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/8358259.htm
While we're on the subject of taking care of the basics,
here's a study (reported in the Contra Costa Times) showing
that smoking accelerates age-related mental decline - in
addition to all the other ways in which it damages you. From
the article: "The most likely explanation of why smoking
causes cognitive decline is its effect on blood vessels in the
brain. It is believed that smoking causes vascular damage,
which, in turn, leads to the death of brain cells." Most
people wouldn't treat a car as badly as they treat their own
bodies ... but staying in shape is vital if you want to be
alive and healthy enough to take advantage of the future of
medical science.
Obesity, Exercise, Diet and Cancer (April 05 2004) http://new-
site.lef.org/news/disease/2004/04/05/eng-2dayuk/eng-2dayuk_08-
0137_1171895096844251094.html (From the LEF News). This is
something that is worth repeating, it seems: the combination
of excess weight, poor diet and lack of exercise is the
leading cause of cancer in the US. If you are overweight, the
best thing you can do for your natural longevity (and future
health, not to mention cutting your healthcare expenditures)
is to change your lifestyle to lose weight. For the vast
majority of people, this is as simple as eating a sensible
diet that is lower in calories and getting enough exercise. If
you want to be around to benefit from the anti-aging medicine
of the future, you have to take care of the basics now!
______________________________
If you have comments for us, please do send e-mail to
newsletter@longevitymeme.org.