An Open Letter from Dr. Aubrey de Grey

reposted from: http://www.sens.org/node/14

Cambridge,

England.

It is now two years since I completed the first edition of my book, Ending Aging, in which I set out the Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence which underpin SENS Foundation’s work. SENS concentrates on therapies which clean up the damaging side-effects of human metabolism, allowing us to sidestep science’s still-considerable ignorance of the underlying workings of that metabolism itself. Building on the research successes of the Methuselah Foundation, it is my pleasure to address you now as Chief Science Officer of SENS Foundation, to reflect on where we stand today, and what the future holds.

I want to give you a feel for what we are achieving by summarising just two of the many recent elements of SENS-related scientific progress. One shining example is the discovery of enzymes that can destroy A2E, a by-product of the chemistry of sight, which is thought to be the primary cause of age-related macular degeneration (in turn, a major cause of blindness in the elderly). Kent Kemmish, a scientist working for the Methuselah Foundation's research group in Phoenix, leveraged knowledge built up in disparate fields over many years to have an inspired insight as to what type of enzyme might perform this task, and he was rapidly able to confirm this in the laboratory. (Reference - added by crabsallover)

The other example, this time relating to mitochondrial mutations (the strand of SENS that was my own first interest), is the breakthrough by Marisol Corral-Debrinski's Methuselah-funded group in Paris in cracking the problem of hydrophobicity of the proteins encoded by mitochondrial DNA. This obstacle, which had for over a decade completely stalled progress in the 20-year-old idea of making mitochondrial DNA redundant by duplicating it in the nucleus, is now largely solved, and there is great hope that this strand of SENS can be brought to complete fruition within only a few more years.

I have no doubt that SENS Foundation is the right organization to take the next evolutionary steps in the engineering of comprehensive regenerative therapies. As Chief Science Officer, I am excited by the challenges ahead, and confident in our ability to construct the teams and resources necessary to meet those challenges. It promises to be a remarkable journey, and I look forward to your continued interest, support and collaboration as we increase our pace and set our sights ever closer to the horizon.

Dr Aubrey de Grey

Onions 'cut heart disease risk'

reposted from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7069343.stm

Onions 'cut heart disease risk'

Onions are a good source of quercetin

Eating a meal rich in compounds called flavonoids reduces some early signs of heart disease, research shows.

An Institute of Food Research team focused on one of the compounds, quercetin, which is found in tea, onions, apples and red wine.

The Atherosclerosis study

examined the effect of the compounds produced after quercetin is broken down by the body.

They were shown to help prevent the chronic inflammation which can lead to thickening of the arteries.

The effect is more subtle than laboratory experiments using the parent compound Dr Paul Kroon Institute of Food Research

Previous research has shown quercetin is metabolised very quickly by the intestine and liver and is not actually found in human blood.

So instead the researchers concentrated on the compounds that enter the bloodstream after quercetin is ingested, absorbed and metabolised.

The compounds were used - in concentrations similar to those that would be produced following digestion - to treat cells taken from the lining of the blood vessels.

Lower dose, bigger impact

Lead researcher Dr Paul Kroon said: "We tested compounds that are actually found in the blood, rather than the flavonoid in food before it is eaten, as only these compounds will actually come into contact with human tissues and have an effect on arterial health.

"The effect is more subtle than laboratory experiments using the parent compound.

"But the metabolites still have an effect on the cells lining the blood vessels."

The research found that,

in the case of one inflammatory process, a lower dose of the compounds - achievable by eating 100g to 200g of onions - actually had a bigger impact.

Bridget Aisbitt, a nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation, said: "Inflammation is an important process in the furring up of arteries that can lead to heart disease and stroke and this study gives us clues as to why a diet rich in fruit and vegetables appears to reduce the risk of these conditions.

"In the UK we are only consuming about two portions of fruit and vegetables per day on average, so this study underlines the importance of getting your five a day to stay healthy throughout life."