Sonia Arrison

Oxford debate on whether aging should be defeated

sonia — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 04:56:29 +0000

Cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s — these are all diseases of aging, yet some people are willing to argue that aging is a good thing. That’s the question at hand at this Oxford University Scientific Society Debate between SENS Foundation Chief Science Officer Dr. Aubrey de Grey and neuroscientist Prof. Colin Blakemore. It happens live in the UK at 11am PST and I’m told the video will be online soon after. I’ll link to it when it is available.

How alcohol consumption effects longevity — take the quiz!

sonia — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 22:43:02 +0000

Here’s a fun app from my friends over at 100Plus, the company (I’m an advisor). They are releasing this app at SXSW, but you can try it out even if you’re not attending.

Data to Kill Death

sonia — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 22:42:42 +0000

Here’s a great article by Forbes columnist Bruno Aziza on big data and staying healthy. It also mentions 100Plus, a cool new company started by Chris Hogg that focuses on predicting your health. If you’re an engineer, designer, data hacker or communicator who is super-interested in these issues, the company is hiring. Check it out!

Adultolescence: It’s the Beginning of a New Age

sonia — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 22:32:27 +0000

Here’s my latest Big Think interview — this time on longevity and the family.

From the transcript: “When we can live longer and healthier lives, there’s the question of what happens to many different areas of our lives. The family is one that’s super important. What happened the last time we doubled human life expectancy? Human life expectancy in 1850 in the United States was 43 years. Today it’s around 80 years. We’ve roughly doubled it already. And so the question is, is well what happened to family life during that time?”

Department of Defense’s Fracture Putty Could Heal Bones in Days

sonia — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:46:15 +0000

The DOD is funding a lot of great work in regenerative medicine. Here’s yet another example developed at the University of Georgia’s Regenerative Bioscience Center. Thanks, DOD (and the folks over at DARPA).

Next task for genome sequencing companies: writing, of course

sonia — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:39:14 +0000

Here’s a great article from PandoDaily discussing what gene sequencing companies like Halcyon might do now that another company (Oxford Nanopore) has managed to do cheap, fast, sequencing first. Halcyon board member Elon Musk has this to say:

Halcyon has a lot of hardcore technology and awesome engineers. No one has or is about to jump ship. Halcyon is one of the few companies where I’m an investor vs being part of the founding team, but I’m nonetheless committed to supporting them for years to come.

If this other tech really works and can do perfect DNA reading, including knowing which genes are expressed, then Halcyon will shift its focus to writing genes.

100 Plus Featured on CBS ‘This Morning’ with Charlie Rose and Gayle King

sonia — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:09:58 +0000

Below is the video and here you will find the article that goes along with it. Jeff Glor, the correspondent who interviewed me, Peter Thiel, and Cynthia Kenyon, was super-smart and did a great job.

New technologies that will allow us to live even longer will pay economic dividends

sonia — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:17:37 +0000

Here’s a link to an op-ed I wrote for a London-based financial newspaper on longevity and economics.

You The Owner’s Manual w/ Dr. Michael Roizen — Radio Show

sonia — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 00:49:40 +0000

I was interviewed about 100 Plus by Dr. Michael Roizen today. He is co-author of the book, You The Owner’s Manual (with Dr. Oz). Dr. Roizen knows his stuff, making the interview really enjoyable since all the questions were super-relevant. I believe the podcast will be up soon at this link.

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.