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Via ScienceDaily, continued progress in instructing our cells to do the right thing: "In recent years, stem cell researchers have become very adept at manipulating the fate of adult stem cells cultured in the lab. Now, [researchers] achieved the same feat with adult neural stem cells still in place in the brain. They successfully coaxed mouse brain stem cells bound to join the neuronal network to differentiate into support cells instead. ... It was quite surprising that stem cells in the adult brain maintain their fate plasticity and that a single gene was enough to reprogram these cells. We can now potentially tailor the fate of stem cells to treat certain conditions such as multiple sclerosis. ... The discovery [not] only attests to the versatility of neural stem cells but also opens up new directions for the treatment of neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, stroke and epilepsy that not only affect neuronal cells but also disrupt the functioning of glial support cells."

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080630093621.htm
Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

EurekAlert! reports on a very promising cancer therapy that's been featured at SENS conferences in the past: "The treatment will involve transfusing specific white blood cells, called granulocytes, from select donors, into patients with advanced forms of cancer. A similar treatment using white blood cells from cancer-resistant mice has previously been highly successful, curing 100 percent of lab mice afflicted with advanced malignancies. ... In mice, we've been able to eradicate even highly aggressive forms of malignancy with extremely large tumors. Hopefully, we will see the same results in humans. Our laboratory studies indicate that this cancer-fighting ability is even stronger in healthy humans ... The team has tested human cancer-fighting cells from healthy donors against human cervical, prostate and breast cancer cells in the laboratory - with surprisingly good results. ... In a small study of human volunteers, the scientists found that cancer-killing activity in the granulocytes was highest in people under age 50. They also found that this activity can be lowered by factors such as winter or emotional stress. They said the key to the success for the new therapy is to transfuse sufficient granulocytes from healthy donors while their cancer-killing activities are at their peak level."

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-06/wfub-ci062308.php
Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

Anders Sandberg provides a transhumanist perspective on the problem that plagues aging research, as well as other fields of medicine - a phobia of vision and directed goals: "Senior scientists and technologists are often asked about their visions and views about the future [but the] economics of research favours talking about means rather than ends, and the allowable ends will be short-term generally agreed on goods. Grants applications dutifully mentions cures for Alzheimers and increased economic competitiveness ... the biotechnology debate has become impoverished: professional competition has shifted the debate away from a 'thick' substantively rational debate about the ends of genetic engineering to a 'thin' formally rational debate about the means to achieve a few predetermined ends like safety, efficiency and health. That has left a lot of people (both for and against) disaffected and unable to participate in the mainstream thin debate since they really want to discuss thick issues. This is why I think the 'shut up, you are scaring the grant bodies' approach the wrong one. They should be scared. Otherwise we will have a science and technology where acceptable research is determined by unaccountable minorities setting 'proper' goals, rather than by a society where numerous wildly different views need to coexist. The big, dramatic and far-fetched transhumanist visions have a place here as values and ends to aim."

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.aleph.se/andart/archives/2008/06/dont_scare_the_kids_and_grant_bodies.html
Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

Cells would do as we desired, changing form and purpose, if we just understood the vocabulary and timing of biochemical signals. ScienceDaily relays another step forward to that end goal: researchers have "genetically programmed embryonic stem (ES) cells to become nerve cells when transplanted into the brain ... mice afflicted by stroke showed tangible therapeutic improvement following transplantation of these cells. None of the mice formed tumors, which had been a major setback in prior attempts at stem cell transplantation. ... MEF2C is a transcription factor that turns on specific genes which then drive stem cells to become nerve cells. ... To move forward with stem cell-based therapies, we need to have a reliable source of nerve cells that can be easily grown, differentiate in the way that we want them to and remain viable after transplantation. MEF2C helps this process first by turning on the genes that, when expressed, make stem cells into nerve cells. It then turns on other genes that keep those new nerve cells from dying. As a result, we were able to produce neuronal progenitor cells that differentiate into a virtually pure population of neurons and survive inside the brain."

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080624174843.htm
Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

The Aging 2008 event at UCLA is tomorrow evening, leading into the Understanding Aging conference: "Applying the new technologies of regenerative and genetic medicine, the engineering approach to aging promises to dramatically extend healthy human life within the next few decades. How do you and your loved ones stand to benefit from the coming biomedical revolution? Are you prepared? Is society prepared? At Aging 2008 you will engage with top scientists and advocates as they present their findings and advice, and learn what you can do to help accelerate progress towards a cure for the disease and suffering of aging. Doors open at 4:00 pm on June 27th, 2008, at UCLA's Royce Hall. All attendees must register in advance; entry is free and includes a complimentary drinks reception before the presentations begin. For an additional $30, attendees also have the opportunity to attend a special dinner with the speakers."

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.mfoundation.org/ADCI/
Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/