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Photo: iStockGood genes may be a big piece of the longevity puzzle, but there are some strategies that seem to help people maintain vitality later in life. Wall Street Journal readers shared their own and loved ones’ stories about reaching and surpassing the age of 95, which would put them in just 0.2% of today’s population, according to the Census Bureau. Below, their advice on living long and well.
Organizations: Wall Street Journal, Census
LONDON (AP) — Britain's medicines regulator has authorized the world's first gene therapy treatment for sickle cell disease, in a move that could offer relief to thousands of people with the crippling disease in the U.K. The agency approved the treatment for patients with sickle cell disease and thalassemia who are 12 years old and over. Casgevy is currently being reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; the agency is expected to make a decision early next month, before considering another sickle cell gene therapy. Millions of people around the world, including about 100,000 in the U.S., have sickle cell disease. Scientists believe being a carrier of the sickle cell trait helps protect against severe malaria.
Persons: , Helen O'Neill Organizations: Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, CRISPR Therapeutics, Helen O'Neill of University College London, Medicines, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: Europe, CRISPR, South Asian, Britain, U.S, Africa, India, Eastern
CNN —The United Kingdom has become the first country to give regulatory approval to a medical treatment involving the revolutionary CRISPR gene editing tool. The treatment, made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, is administered by taking stem cells out of a patient’s bone marrow and editing a gene in the cells in a lab. “Modifying the stem cells from the bone marrow of the patient avoids the problems associated with immune compatibility, i.e. The release from the MHRA did not say how much the treatment would cost, but it’s likely to be expensive. CRISPR-Cas9 has had a major impact on biomedical research, clinical medicine and agriculture and is widely used in labs around the world.
Persons: , , Julian Beach, , — Emmanuelle Charpentier, Jennifer A, Doudna —, Casgevy, Alena Pance, ” Pance, Cas9, Jiankui Organizations: CNN, country’s Medicines, Healthcare, Agency, Beta, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, US Food and Drug Administration, University of Hertfordshire, Science Media Centre Locations: United Kingdom, South Asian
says its database offers a more diverse population: 175,000 people with African ancestry and 80,000 Hispanics joined the Million Veteran Program. For example, said Dr. Sumitra Muralidhar, director of the Million Veteran Program, researchers found genes linked to having flashbacks of traumatic events, a feature of post-traumatic stress. Although researchers can examine genetic and other data and links to medical records, fewer than 10 people at the V.A. Those records, Dr. Muralidhar said, are held at a facility in Boston that is “heavily secured.”What It Looks Like: Veterans hope the database will help. hospital told Octavia Harris, 60, of San Antonio, about the Million Veteran Program.
Persons: , Shereef Elnahal, , Amit V, Sumitra Muralidhar, Muralidhar, Octavia Harris, Harris Organizations: Employees, Department sVeterans Affairs, Million, Massachusetts General Hospital, Million Veteran, Navy Locations: Europe, Massachusetts, Boston, San Antonio
Biden’s Race Against a Cure
  + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com   time to read: 1 min
Wonder Land: Citing the president’s age lets Democrats off the hook for the political failure of his economic policies. Images: AP/AFP/EPA/Getty Images Composite: Mark KellyThe Food and Drug Administration may soon approve two gene therapies with the potential to cure more than 100,000 Americans with debilitating sickle-cell disease. Gene therapies fix missing or defective genes. The one-time treatments have the potential to cure inherited disorders with early death sentences. The FDA has approved nine gene therapies for such diseases as Duchenne muscular dystrophy, spinal muscular atrophy and retinal dystrophy.
Persons: Mark Kelly The Organizations: AFP, EPA, Drug Administration, Medicare, Medicaid Services, FDA
Horsehair worms can control a host's brain and steer it to water, where it drowns. These parasitic worms, which resemble dark and stringy horse hair, take control of their host's brain and drive it to suicide. Hairworms' magic copy-cat trickHairworms need water to reproduce, so when they're ready they force their host to water, where ultimately the host drowns. Horsehair worms make their hosts more active in the middle of the day , when it's easier to find light reflecting off water. So the Chordodes worms can only control mantises and can't puppeteer other insects or mammals, according to the study.
Persons: what's, , they're, it's, hairworms, Tappei Mishina, Hairworms, Rather, Mishina Organizations: Service, University of California's, Pest Management
Researchers mapped starfish genes to solve the mystery, and it wasn't what they expected. Turns out, starfish genes suggest it contains multiple heads, one at the center and in each limb. AdvertisementAdvertisementIn a game of pin the tail on the donkey, scientists have finally pinpointed the head on a starfish. Turns out starfish, aka sea stars, don't just have one head sitting at the center of their bodies. On the other hand, sea stars with five limbs, lack bilateral symmetry and instead have what's called five-fold radial symmetry.
Persons: , Laurent Formery, Peter Guttman, Formery, Jeff Thompson, he's Organizations: Service, Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences, Getty, Stanford, University of Southampton Locations: Nature
CNN —The heads of most animals are easily identifiable, but scientists haven’t been able to say the same for sea stars until now. But new genetic research suggests the opposite — that sea stars are largely heads that lack torsos or tails and likely lost those features evolutionarily over time. There, they go through a process that transforms a bilateral body into a star shape, or pentaradial body. But echinoderms also share a common ancestor with bilateral animals, which adds to the puzzle researchers are trying to solve. Specific molecular markers act like body plan blueprints, directing each cell to the body region where it belongs.
Persons: haven’t, It’s, , Laurent Formery, “ It’s, Christopher Lowe, Jeff Thompson, , ” Lowe, Formery, Chan Zuckerberg, Dr, Priscilla Chan, Mark Zuckerberg, Laurent Formery “, ” Thompson, Daniel Rokhsar Organizations: CNN, Stanford University, University of California, University of Southampton, NASA, National Science Foundation, Leverhulme Trust Locations: Berkeley, San Francisco
Sarepta gave the one-time drug a price tag of $3.2 million, making it the second most-expensive medicine in the world. DMD affects one in 3,500 to 5,000 newborns, mostly boys because of the way it’s inherited, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. The primary goal of the confirmatory trial was improvement on a measure known as the North Star Ambulatory Assessment, a scale of how well kids can stand, walk and perform other movements. The difference wasn’t statistically significant, meaning technically the study failed to meet its main goal. The company said no new safety issues emerged in the trial, which it called EMBARK.
Persons: Doug Ingram, ” Ingram, Sarepta, , Dr, Sanjay Gupta, Ingram, Organizations: CNN, US Food and Drug Administration, Sarepta Therapeutics, FDA, Johns Hopkins Medicine, North Star, CNN Health
Lab models of human embryos raise hopes and concerns
  + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com   time to read: +14 min
From the moment sperm fuses with an egg, human embryo development involves a string of complex and little understood processes. What happens during human embryo development, particularly in the crucial first month, remains largely unknown. However, 14 days is an important milestone because it is when permitted lab research on cultured human embryos routinely ends. He said, in the future, it might be possible to go as far as 40 days with human embryo models. Some in the field envision a “tipping point” wherein human embryo models might be afforded some protection like those surrounding human embryos, as scientific advances diminish the differences between the embryo models and their real-life counterparts.
Persons: CNN — It’s, , Jacob Hanna, demystify, they’ve, Hanna, “ It’s, ” Hanna, , Peter Rugg, Gunn, it’s, , Robin Lovell, Francis Crick, Naomi Moris, Francis Crick Institute’s, Moris, we’ve, ” Moris, It’s, Bobbie Farsides, ” Farsides Organizations: CNN, Weizmann Institute of Science, Weizmann Institute, Israel, Weizmann, Babraham Institute, International Society for Stem Cell Research, Stem Cell, Francis, Francis Crick Institute, Genetics, Development, , Sussex Medical School Locations: Israel, London, Brighton
Chimpanzees Go Through Menopause, Too
  + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Carl Zimmer | More About Carl Zimmer | ) www.nytimes.com   time to read: +1 min
For biologists, menopause is baffling. If natural selection favors genes that produce more descendants, why don’t women remain fertile their entire lives? The mystery has only deepened as scientists have looked for menopause in mammals in the wild and found clear evidence of it only in a few species of whales. That rarity has led some researchers to argue that menopause played a crucial part in the evolution of humans. After decades of observations in a rainforest in Uganda, they discovered that some chimpanzees go through menopause, too.
Persons: , Kevin Langergraber, Langergraber Organizations: Arizona State University Locations: Uganda
AdvertisementAdvertisementMost of us have a little bit of Neanderthal DNA. An employee of the Natural History Museum in London looks at model of a Neanderthal male/ Will Oliver/PA Images/GettyBut that proportion varies, and some people have slightly more Neanderthal DNA than others. People in East Asia, notably, tend to have more Neanderthal DNA in their genomes, but why they have more has long baffled scientists. "So what's puzzling is that an area where we've never found any Neanderthal remains, there's more Neanderthal DNA," study author Mathias Currat, a geneticist at the University of Geneva, told CNN. Their study found that up to about 20,000 years ago, European genomes were indeed richer in Neanderthal DNA than the Asian genomes they have on record.
Persons: , Will Oliver, we've, Mathias Currat, Currat, Claudio Quilodrán Organizations: Service, University of Geneva, CNN, Harvard Medical School, That's, UNIGE Faculty of Science Locations: London, East Asia, Siberia, Europe, Anatolia, Western Turkey, Western Europe, Asia
It seems like just about everyone wants to know how to live longer, healthier lives these days, especially as more 100-year-olds speak out about how happy and fulfilled they are. 'How to Improve Your Healthspan Using DNA Insights with Dr. Bartek Nogal' on Longevity by DesignListen here Longevity by Design aims to speak directly to people hoping to live longer, healthier lives. In a recent episode of the podcast, Gil Blander, recurring host with expertise on longevity, interviews Bartek Nogal, a scientist who researches genetics, about the links between genes and aging. "Knowing your genetic predispositions to certain traits can help you fine tune your wellness plan, and Dr. Nogal and Dr. Blander explain how to do so in this episode," a description of the episode explains. 'The Small Molecules of Longevity' on Human Longevity Podcast
Persons: Radiolab, It's, Gnanasambandan, Marc Wittmann, David Eagleman, Lewis Howes, David Sinclair, Casey Means, Howes, Peter Attia's, ZOE, Jonathan Wolf, Peter Attia, Wolf, Bartek, Gil Blander, Bartek Nogal, Nogal, Blander Organizations: Institute for Frontier, Mental Health, The, ZOE Science, Nutrition, Design Locations: Germany, Harvard
Ambitious research yields new atlas of human brain cells
  + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +5 min
The human brain is complex in terms of its utility - sensing, moving, reading, writing, speaking, thinking and more - and its cellular diversity. The research identified 3,313 cell types, roughly 10 times more than previously known, and the complete set of genes used by each cell type while also mapping their regional distribution in the brain. "The brain cell atlas as a whole provides the cellular substrate for everything that we can do as human beings," said neuroscientist Ed Lein of the Seattle-based Allen Institute for Brain Science, one of the researchers. The various cell types have distinct properties and are likely affected differently in disease, Lein said. "We are only at the very beginning of delineating the complexity of the human brain," said another of the researchers, Bing Ren, director of the University of California, San Diego Center for Epigenomics.
Persons: Denis Balibouse, Ed Lein, Lein, Trygve Bakken, Bing Ren, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Belle Idee University, REUTERS, Rights, U.S, government's National Institutes of Health, Census Network, Allen Institute for Brain Science, Allen, University of California, San Diego Center for Epigenomics, Thomson Locations: Neuropsychiatry, Chene, Bourg, Geneva, Seattle
Test tubes labelled "Bird Flu" and eggs are seen in this picture illustration, January 14, 2023. Flu viruses hijack proteins like ANP32 inside cells to help themselves replicate, and the edits in chickens were designed to stop the growth of bird flu. However, they have not bred chickens with three edits yet, said Helen Sang, who previously studied genetically modifying chickens against bird flu at the University of Edinburgh. Unlike genetic modification, which introduces foreign genes, gene editing alters existing genes. The technology is considered to be less controversial than genetic modification and is more lightly regulated in some countries.
Persons: Dado Ruvic, Wendy Barclay, Barclay, Helen Sang, Sang, Tom Polansek, Jamie Freed Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S, Imperial College of London, Nature Communications, University of Edinburgh, European Union, Thomson Locations: Britain, France, U.S
Scientists analyzed Atlantic puffin genes and found they had been interbreeding in recent history. The hybrid group formed when two of three subspecies of Atlantic puffins began mating six generations ago, around 1910, according to a study published in the journal Science Advances. It's important to study the genetic changes happening in puffins right now so we can best plan for how to protect, "such an iconic species," Kersten said. That likely corresponds to the breakup of an ancient glacier over the Arctic, Kersten told Insider. Kersten and his colleagues hypothesize that this happened because climate change made the northern habitat unsuitable for puffins.
Persons: Annemarie Loof, Oliver Kersten, Kersten, Evie Easterbrook, they're Organizations: Service, puffin, University of Oslo Locations: Atlantic, puffins, Farne, Northumberland, UK, United Kingdom, Norway
A scientist who studies the airborne transmission of diseases, a master hula dancer and cultural preservationist, and the sitting U.S. poet laureate were among the 20 new recipients of the prestigious fellowships from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, known as “genius grants,” announced on Wednesday. MacArthur fellows receive a grant of $800,000 over five years to spend however they want. Fellows are nominated and endorsed by their peers and communities through an often yearslong process that the foundation oversees. Many past fellows like Octavia Butler, Paul Farmer and Twyla Tharp are luminaries in their fields and Marlies Carruth, who directs the MacArthur Fellows program, emphasized that they hope fellows will support and inspire each other. "To think that I’ve actually been selected as one is really mind-blowing,” she said, of the MacArthur fellows.
Persons: John D, Catherine T, , MacArthur, it’s, Ada Limón, Allamay Barker, , Limón, ” Limón, Octavia Butler, Paul Farmer, Twyla Tharp, Carruth, Andrea Armstrong, Patrick Makuakāne, Imani Perry, Linsey Marr, Marr, Ian Bassin, Bassin, Tendayi, Rina Foygel Barber, Courtney Bryan, Jason D, María Magdalena Campos, Pons, Raven Chacon, Diana Greene Foster, Lucy Hutyra, Carolyn Lazard, Lester Mackey, Manuel Muñoz, Williams, Amber Wutich Organizations: MacArthur Foundation, University of Montevallo, NASA, Marlies Carruth, MacArthur Fellows, Loyola University New Orleans, College of Law, Black, Virginia Tech, Protect Democracy, MacArthur, Mexican American, Associated, Lilly Endowment Inc, AP Locations: Lexington , Kentucky, Alabama, Louisiana, Caribbean, Americas, Mexican, Central
Being a vegetarian might be in your DNA
  + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Madeline Holcombe | ) edition.cnn.com   time to read: +4 min
The study published Wednesday in PLOS One found that there are four genes associated with how well someone is able to adhere to a vegetarian lifestyle. Several of the genes that the study found to be associated with vegetarianism had to do with metabolizing lipids, Yaseen said. Although this study may not provide a definitive answer, it is an important look into nutrition, he said. “This study shines a light on a relatively under-explored area of research: the genetics behind dietary preferences,” Ordovás said. “The association of genetic variants with long-term strict vegetarianism suggests a biological basis for this dietary choice, beyond just cultural, ethical, or environmental reasons.”
Persons: , Nabeel Yaseen, Yaseen, José Ordovás, Ordovás, ” Yaseen, ” Ordovás, Organizations: CNN, PLOS, Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, Tufts University Locations: Massachusetts
Who Are the 2023 MacArthur 'Genius Grant' Fellows?
  + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Associated Press | Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com   time to read: +5 min
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced the 2023 class of fellows, often known as recipients of the “genius grant,” on Wednesday. The foundation reviews nominations for fellows over a yearslong process that solicits input from their communities and peers. Fellows do not apply and are never officially informed that they've been nominated unless they are selected for the award. The 2023 fellows are:E. Tendayi Achiume, 41, Los Angeles, a legal scholar who examines the history of global migration to argue for a reimagining of the rules governing the movement of people. Lester Mackey, 38, Cambridge, Massachusetts, a computer scientist and statistician whose research has helped improve the efficiency and predictions of machine learning techniques.
Persons: John D, Catherine T, , Carruth, they've, Tendayi Achiume, Andrea Armstrong, Rina Foygel Barber, Ian Bassin, Courtney Bryan, Jason D, María Magdalena Campos, Pons, Raven Chacon, Red, Diana Greene Foster, Lucy Hutyra, Carolyn Lazard, Ada Limón, Lester Mackey, Patrick Makuakāne, Linsey Marr, Manuel Muñoz, Imani Perry, Dyani, Williams, Amber Wutich Organizations: MacArthur Foundation, MacArthur Fellows, Mexican American, Black, Associated, Lilly Endowment Inc, AP Locations: Los Angeles, New Orleans, Chicago, Washington, Cambridge , Massachusetts, Nashville , Tennessee, Cuba, Red Hook , New York, United States, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Lexington , Kentucky, Blacksburg , Virginia, Tucson , Arizona, Mexican, Central Valley, Shakopee, Minneapolis, Tempe , Arizona
Scientists thought a dog-fox hybrid was impossible until one was discovered in Brazil in 2021. However, the discovery of a dog-fox hybrid in Brazil suggests that "The Fox and the Hound" might sometimes be a little more "Lady and the Tramp." This is the first documented case of a dog-fox hybrid. What does the dog-fox hybrid tell us? AdvertisementAdvertisementIt is important to note that the pampas fox species is very different to the red fox (Vulpes vulpes).
Persons: , Jacqueline Boyd Organizations: Service, Fox, Scottish, Animal, Nottingham Trent University Locations: Brazil, Portuguese, Poland
CNN —If you want to keep your kids from drinking, start by looking at your own consumption. Binge drinking is defined as at least four drinks for women and five drinks for men on one occasion, the study said. Over 45% of kids who started drinking at age 13 or younger develop alcohol problems, Dick said. “We actually know that (teens who drink at home) are more likely to use with their friends in irresponsible and risky ways,” she said. “Adolescents are making healthier choices than many of us did when we were that age,” Dick added.
Persons: , Marissa Esser, Danielle Dick, Dick, Rutgers Robert Wood, Scott Hadland, Dick said, ” Dick, , , Hadland, Rosamund Dean, Dean, it’s Organizations: CNN, Adolescent Health, US Centers for Disease Control, Rutgers Addiction Research, Rutgers, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Harvard Medical School Locations: Piscataway , New Jersey, Massachusetts, Boston
In the past few months alone, researchers have linked Neanderthal DNA to a serious hand disease, the shape of people's noses and various other human traits. Research shows some African populations have almost no Neanderthal DNA, while those from European or Asian backgrounds have 1% to 2%. For example, Neanderthal DNA has been linked to auto-immune diseases like Graves’ disease and rheumatoid arthritis. The list goes on: Research has linked Neanderthal genetic variants to skin and hair color, behavioral traits, skull shape and Type 2 diabetes. Researchers found the skulls of domesticated dogs in Homo sapiens sites much further back in time than anyone had found before.
Persons: We’re, , Mary Prendergast, Hugo Zeberg, Svante Paabo, Zeberg, It's, Graves, Homo sapiens, Chris Stringer, , Rick Potts, Paabo, ” Zeberg, Raghavan, Potts, Denisovans, sapiens, Eleanor Scerri, Prendergast, Janet Young, Pat Shipman, John Hawks Organizations: Rice University, Karolinska, Research, Smithsonian Institution, University of Chicago, Germany’s Max Planck Institute, Geoanthropology, Canadian Museum, University of Wisconsin -, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: Sweden, Melanesia, New Guinea, Fiji, Africa, Europe, Asia, London, Eurasia, Germany’s, University of Wisconsin - Madison
Our species, Homo sapiens — with our complex thoughts and deep emotions — were the only true humans to ever walk the Earth. A study last week found early humans were building structures with wood before H. sapiens evolved. This ability to read ancient DNA revolutionized the field, and it is constantly improving. He specializes in creating lifelike models of ancient humans for museums, including the Smithsonian and the American Museum of Natural History, in hopes of helping public perception catch up to the science. They haven't been able to gather much ancient DNA from Africa, where H. sapiens first evolved, because it has been degraded by heat and moisture.
Persons: , Chris Stringer, ” Stringer, sapiens, Rick Potts, naledi, heidelbergensis, John Shea, , Svante Paabo, Paabo, Bence Viola, Potts, Shea, ’ ” Shea, let’s, Janet Young, Young, John Gurche, Gurche, ” Gurche, “ They’re, they’re, it’s, haven't, we’ll, Mary Prendergast Organizations: Stony Brook University, University of Toronto, Canadian Museum, Smithsonian, American Museum of, Rice University, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: Africa, Europe, Indonesia, Asia, Swedish, East, Southeast Asia
The cargo van-size spacecraft arrived in orbit around the asteroid Bennu in December 2018, providing detailed views of the spinning top-shaped space rock. Other worldsA training model of the OSIRIS-REx mission's sample return capsule was released from an aircraft in August, simulating the upcoming recovery operations. Keegan Barber/NASAThe OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will fly by Earth this weekend and drop off its precious sample from Bennu. Watch as the sample capsule is set to plunge through Earth’s atmosphere and land in the Utah desert, with NASA’s live coverage beginning at 10 a.m. As the capsule parachutes down, OSIRIS-REx will keep going, embarking on a new adventure to explore the asteroid Apophis.
Persons: CNN —, REx, NASA’s, Keegan Barber, , Deutsches, Monopoly, you’re, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Rice University in Texas, Mechanical, Zimbabwe, Bochum, Iron, Swedish Museum of, Publishing, Andromeda Galaxy, CNN Space, Science Locations: Utah, Dürrnberg, Austria, Austrian, Zambia, Tasmania, Stockholm, Western Australia
Two days later, the man was cracking jokes and able to sit in a chair, Maryland doctors said Friday. “You know, I just keep shaking my head – how am I talking to someone who has a pig heart?” Dr. Bartley Griffith, who performed the transplant, told The Associated Press. “It’s just an amazing feeling to see this pig heart work in a human,” said Dr. Muhammad Mohiuddin, the Maryland team’s xenotransplantation expert. That FDA allowed this second case “suggests that the agency is not ready to permit a pig heart clinical trial to start,” Mashke added. The pig heart, provided by Blacksburg, Virginia-based Revivicor, has 10 genetic modifications – knocking out some pig genes and adding some human ones to make it more acceptable to the human immune system.
Persons: , , ” Lawrence Faucette, Dr, Bartley Griffith, David Bennett, Ann Faucette, , Faucette, “ It’s, Muhammad Mohiuddin, Karen Maschke, ” Mashke Organizations: WASHINGTON, — Surgeons, Navy, University of Maryland Medicine, Associated Press, Maryland, Food and Drug Administration, FDA, National Institutes of Health, Maryland team’s, Hastings Center, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education, AP Locations: Maryland, Frederick , Maryland, U.S, Blacksburg , Virginia
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