Sonia Arrison » Longevity tech

Another tissue engineering success

sonia — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:42:48 +0000

A 30-year old man in Baltimore had his cancerous trachea taken out and replaced with one grown for him in the lab. Now, he has a second chance at life and his 4-year-old daughter will have her father around. Scientists like Dr. Paolo Macchiarini, director of the Advanced Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, are true heroes.

Here’s the full story in the New York Times.

New gene therapy for hemophilia B

sonia — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 20:56:46 +0000

From the NYT:

Medical researchers in Britain have successfully treated six patients suffering from the blood-clotting disease known as hemophilia B by injecting them with the correct form of a defective gene, a landmark achievement in the troubled field of gene therapy.

It’s worth pointing out that gene therapy hasn’t been “troubled” in the last few years, and instead, there have been some rather amazing successes. Some I detail in my book, 100 Plus, and here’s an example that was also covered by the NYT.

Scientists turn back the clock on adult stem cells aging

sonia — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 22:57:33 +0000

This is important news:

Researchers have shown they can reverse the aging process for human adult stem cells, which are responsible for helping old or damaged tissues regenerate. The findings could lead to medical treatments that may repair a host of ailments that occur because of tissue damage as people age. A research group led by the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and the Georgia Institute of Technology conducted the study in cell culture, which appears in the September 1, 2011 edition of the journal Cell Cycle.

Singularity Hub reviews 100+

sonia — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 22:17:49 +0000

Aaron Saenz at Singularity Hub writes a thoughtful review of 100+:

What would you do with another 75 years on this Earth? Not as a pain wracked wizened elder in a nursing home, but as a vibrant super-centenarian with the energy of a 30 year old? Sonia Arrison is here to tell you it’s not only possible, it’s coming soon. The author, journalist, futurist and Silicon Valley insider’s latest book, 100+, explores the science and the fallout of extending our lifespans. Easy to read, and easy to understand, 100+ walks you through the incredible achievements in regenerative medicine we’ve already seen, projects them forward, and discusses the changes in environment, economy, family, and religion that will follow.

An Immune System Trained to Kill Cancer

sonia — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 23:25:31 +0000

This is an excellent article from the NYT about how gene therapy has been used to kill cancer. Dr. Carl June at U Penn is really a leader in this field.

Research opens the possibility of temporarily reversing aging in the immune system

sonia — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 03:25:52 +0000

Researchers funded by the UK-based Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have discovered a new mechanism controlling ageing in white blood cells. The research, published in the September issue of the Journal of Immunology, opens up the possibility of temporarily reversing the effects of ageing on immunity and could, in the future, allow for the short-term boosting of the immune systems of older people.

Here’s the link to the press release.

America: It’s Time to Snap Out of the Pro-Death Trance

sonia — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 20:36:24 +0000

A Swedish hospital recently announced that a cancer patient was saved after doctors grew him a new windpipe in the lab using a synthetic structure and the man’s own stem cells. That might have sounded like science fiction just a few years ago, but today it is landmark news. Regenerative medicine has the ability to usher in radically longer and healthier lives, yet few are considering the implications.

The ability to grow new replacement parts for humans when original organs break down is a game-changer when it comes to extending human “health spans” — the amount of time one is alive and healthy. A handful of human subjects have already benefited from innovations in this area and dozens of organs have been successfully grown in the lab, including a rat heart.

The science is not easy, but because of the exponential growth of technological tools, it is moving faster than many had expected. Such growth has happened before.

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Live Very Long and Prosper a Lot

sonia — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 19:00:44 +0000

Here’s an interview I did with Rick Docksai, assistant editor for THE FUTURIST. We talk about longevity and my upcoming book, 100 Plus.

Dr. Anthony Atala on the power of regenerative medicine

sonia — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 21:38:06 +0000

Dr. Atala of Wake Forest University is one of the leaders in the field of regenerative medicine — a true hero. Here’s a recent op-ed he wrote for CNN on the topic.

Patient gets world’s first artificial trachea

sonia — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 23:34:12 +0000

The headline of this USA Today story is somewhat misleading, since the trachea that was created using an artificial scaffold was made with the patient’s own cells. It’s a sort of artificial/biological mix of a trachea. In any case, the technique worked to cure a man of cancer, so whatever it is called, it is really quite an amazing procedure. Here is an article on the same story by the WSJ.