Healthy Aging News and ResearchProf. George Church on Cellular Reprogramming and Longevity

User avatar
jocko6889
Posts: 644
Joined: Tue Jul 23, 2019 11:35 pm
Location: Tulsa, OK

Prof. George Church on Cellular Reprogramming and Longevity

Post by jocko6889 »

We hadn't heard from George Church at Harvard in awhile but in a recent interview, he gave some of his thoughts on where we are with cellular reprogramming.

According to Church, there are two schools of thought on how to reverse aging.  One says aging occurs from damage to proteins, lipids, RNA, and DNA and that a therapist would need to go in with his repair kit and fix it.

The other school of thought says age reversal is all about restoring the epigenome to an earlier point in time from a backup copy somewhere in our DNA.  But according to Church, some things are beyond epigenetic repair, such as when all copies of a particular necessary gene, like a tumor suppressor, have been completely wiped away over time.

Church believes the proper course then, is a hybrid of these two ideas.  He says most repair can be done epigenetically, some via the bloodstream, and other things via the genetic toolkit, like CRISPR or an even more advanced gene editing tool.

Church's lab is currently doing cellular reprogramming experiments with dogs with good results.  There are big advancements in the delivery method of these genes with vector viruses.

This is a pretty long article covering many topics but well worth the read:

https://www.lifespan.io/news/prof-georg ... longevity/


PJM
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2022 8:35 am

Re: Prof. George Church on Cellular Reprogramming and Longevity

Post by PJM »

jocko6889 wrote: Thu Mar 16, 2023 8:40 pm ome things are beyond epigenetic repair, such as when all copies of a particular necessary gene, like a tumor suppressor, have been completely wiped away over time.

 
Since epigenetic repair isn't available as an off-the-shelf product right now, perhaps it makes sense to conserve (freeze?) our genes now so we have the best available copies when we can use them?  Before they get any worse?

Or maybe some of us would be better off using some or all of someone else's genes (depending on our age and other factors)?
 
User avatar
jocko6889
Posts: 644
Joined: Tue Jul 23, 2019 11:35 pm
Location: Tulsa, OK

Re: Prof. George Church on Cellular Reprogramming and Longevity

Post by jocko6889 »

PJM wrote: Mon Mar 20, 2023 1:11 pm
jocko6889 wrote: Thu Mar 16, 2023 8:40 pm ome things are beyond epigenetic repair, such as when all copies of a particular necessary gene, like a tumor suppressor, have been completely wiped away over time.


 
Since epigenetic repair isn't available as an off-the-shelf product right now, perhaps it makes sense to conserve (freeze?) our genes now so we have the best available copies when we can use them?  Before they get any worse?

Or maybe some of us would be better off using some or all of someone else's genes (depending on our age and other factors)?
 

 
The other method of genetic anti-aging discussed was genetic modification using tools like CRISPR.  So scientists should be able to insert a copy of the missing gene using this "copy and paste" technology.  You shouldn't need to have to preserve your own DNA to get a good copy of a gene.  This is how they've cured sickle cell anemia.
 
Post Reply Previous topicNext topic