The SENSible Blog discusses the development of rejuvenation biotechnology around the world: progress being made in the field of longevity, the design of medical therapies to cure, reverse and prevent the diseases and disabilities of aging, and much more.

Our content is a blend of popular interest articles – labelled “Easy Reads”, and designed to require no specific background knowledge – as well as more detailed scientific commentaries, labelled as “In-Depth” and aimed towards readers with some grounding in the biological/medical sciences.

In-Depth

A CoDA for the Barriers to Genetic Rejuvenation Therapies?

Zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) are engineered DNA-binding proteins with remarkable, highly programmable sequence-specificity. However, their widespread use has been slowed by licensing issues and the technical difficulty of synthesising new variants. A new platform, CoDA (context-dependent assembly), promises to make these exceptionally useful tools available to a far greater number of researchers.

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In-Depth

Toward Full Pluripotency of Reprogrammed Cells — And Cautionary Tale About Abandoning the ‘Gold Standard’

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are among the most exciting recent developments in biomedicine, overcoming immunological and ethical issues associated with the use of embryonic stem cells (ESCs). However, reasonable doubt remains regarding whether iPSCs do in fact have the full biological and therapeutic potential of ESCs. Work at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute recently produced the first “all-iPSC” live mice, a milestone on the road to establishing full equivalence between the two methods.

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Easy Read

NIA’s ITP Confirms: Resveratrol Does Not Extend Lifespan; Limited Benefit to Rapamycin

Resveratrol, a polyphenol famously found in wine, has previously been shown to extend lifespan in some naturally unhealthy rodent strains – but unfortunately does not show the same benefits in healthy, naturally long-lived mice. Meanwhile rapamycin, an immunosuppressant drug, has now become the first substance confirmed to at least moderately extend maximum lifespan in healthy mice.

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In-Depth

Abeta Clearance Removes Early Tau Pathology in Neuronal Processes

The clearance of beta-amyloid (Abeta) and other protein aggregates by immunotherapy is a key rejuvenation biotechnology to restore youthful function to aging brains, especially those with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative disorders. Initial trials using anti-Abeta vaccines have demonstrated concomitant reductions in early-stage tau aggregates, but not in mature neurofibrillary tangles, suggesting that such vaccines would be optimally deployed much earlier in the disease process – or in combination with anti-tau vaccines.

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In-Depth

Progress in Targeting Tau Pathology

Neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs – cytoplasmic inclusions composed of abnormal species of tau protein) accumulate in the aging brain, particularly in neurodegenerative disease, where they are closely associated with areas of neuronal death. The urgency of tackling tau accumulation in particular has become more apparent after recent studies revealed that clearance of beta-amyloid alone achieves only moderate clinical benefits, with continued pathology attributed in particular to persistent NFTs.

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In-Depth

New SENS Foundation-Funded Research Project: Catalytic Cleavage of Age-Related Cardiac Amyloid

The well-known beta-amyloid protein that plays a major role in Alzheimer’s disease is only one of those which accumulate in aging bodies. Cardiac amyloidoses, caused by aggregation of the proteins transthyretin and atrial natriuretic peptide, are already the dominant cause of death in supercentenarians (those 110 years of age or older) and are expected to become much more widespread in an increasingly aged general population and as improved treatment options become available for other age-related diseases. SENS Research Foundation has recently launched a project exploring the use of catalytic antibodies – which actively degrade their target, rather than merely binding to it – to remove such aggregates.

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