Longevity Meme Newsletter, October 20 2003

LONGEVITY MEME NEWSLETTER
October 20 2003

The Longevity Meme Newsletter is a biweekly e-mail containing news,
opinions and happenings for people interested in healthy life
extension: making use of diet, lifestyle choices, technology and
proven medical advances to live healthy, longer lives. To subscribe or
unsubscribe from the Longevity Meme Newsletter, please visit
http://www.longevitymeme.org/newsletter/.

______________________________

FOLLOWING UP ON THE CRYONICS INDUSTRY

Since I talked about cryonics in the last newsletter, I thought I
should point out this very good article on Alcor from the Arizona
Republic yesterday:

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/1019alcor-main19.html

It's neutral, balanced and provides a good introduction to cryonics
(and recent events within the cryonics industry) for the beginner.

Cryonics is, unfortunately, the only chance that many people will have
to escape the certainty of death by aging or incurable disease, since
even the most optimistic insiders predict a ten to twenty year wait
for the first technologies of healthy life extension. As such, even if
the chance of success is unknown, cryonics should be encouraged and
supported as an industry. All the recent publicity should help the
industry grow, become more professional and provide a better service
to its customers.

BAD LEGISLATION WATCH

It looks very much like the current US administration, not yet
succeeding in stamping out theraputic cloning at home, is attempting
to push the United Nations into engineering a global ban on theraputic
cloning research.

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/publicservices/story/0,11032,1066377,00.html

This is a very bad thing. As a quick recap, theraputic cloning (or
SCNT) is a technique used in most stem cell based therapies and
regenerative medicine research. Scientists in many different countries
have, using these technologies, demonstrated cures for heart disease
and Crohn's in humans, cures for Parkinson's in mice, techniques for
repairing shattered bones, and cures for forms of blindness and
deafness. Most of these therapies are entering or in early trials now.
Many other promising lines of research on different diseases are in
earlier stages in the labs. In short, theraputic cloning is not
speculative medical science: it works, it works amazingly well, and it
will soon be available to all of us.

If it is not banned.

In the past two years, many countries (including the US) have adopted
restrictive legislation that has damaged scientific progress in this
important are of medicine. In the US, a complete ban on theraputic
cloning research is still awaiting a senate vote:

http://www.longevitymeme.org/projects/oppose_the_theraputic_cloning_ban.cfm

Now, the US administration is pushing for a global ban. Not content
with damaging research and drying up funding at home, they want to do
this worldwide. It's never too late to write to your elected
representatives on this matter! Please feel free to express your
outrage at the way in which this government is attempting to stifle
the development of cures for the many diseases of aging. Follow the
link above for information on how to contact your representatives.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

In other news, I have accepted a directorship with the Immortality
Institute, a non-profit group that shares many of the same values and
goals as the Longevity Meme. I have been participating over at the
Immortality Institute for a while, and this is a formalization of that
relationship rather than anything new. I will still be leading the
independent growth of the Longevity Meme, and I will continue to
advise Immortality Institute members to focus on "first things first."
In my view, we need to work hard together to win the fight against
aging before we can worry about what the next steps beyond this might
be. Until we as a society have removed the near-term threat posed by
age-related conditions, degeneration and disease, it seems premature
to be discussing very long-term trends and concerns.

If you haven't yet visited the Immortality Institute, or looked over
the forums there, I encourage you to do so. The website hosts a
thriving, intelligent, friendly community of folks who support healthy
life extension.

http://www.imminst.org
http://www.imminst.org/forum

I should note that the Immortality Institute founder and directors
have done a great job in the past in responding to calls for activism
from the Longevity Meme. They have written letters to politicians and
generously publicized and donated to the Methuselah Mouse prize fund
(one of my favored causes), amongst other responses.

BUILDING THE METHUSELAH MOUSE CHALLENGE GRANT

While we are on the topic of the Methuselah Mouse prize, I should say
that everyone involved is very happy with the rate of progress in
publicity and growth of the fund. The more attention focused on this
poorly funded area of research, the better.

http://www.methuselahmouse.org

Remember that the now $10 million X Prize for commercial suborbital
flight started with a $10,000 grant in 1996, a mere seven years ago.
The smart crowd expects one of the participating teams to win the
prize sometime next year, after a total research investment of some
$160 million. The Methuselah Mouse prize founders are working hard to
repeat this level of success. Success in extending the healthy mouse
lifespan, and in reversing the conditions and diseases of aging, will
do wonders for human healthy life extension research. To get results,
public support and research dollars are required: research prizes are
a good way to go about getting both. You can read a longer explanation
of the good that research prizes do at the Longevity Meme:

http://www.longevitymeme.org/topics/research_prizes.cfm

To this end, a $15,000 challenge grant is being assembled to match
public donations and stimulate growth of the prize. If you are
interested in helping to put together this challenge grant (and seeing
your name in lights), send me e-mail at [EMAIL PROTECTED] and I
will put you in touch with the right people.

As usual, I would never ask you to do what I do not do myself. I have
committed to contributing $100 a month over the next year to this
grant. All it will take to fill out the bulk of the grant would be a
dozen of you to step up and make this same commitment for a better,
healthier, longer future. Think about it!

FIN

That's all for my commentary this time: a news roundup for the past
two weeks follows below.

DISCUSSION

Have comments for us, or want to discuss the newsletter? Visit the
Longevity Meme forum at http://www.longevitymeme.org/forum.cfm, or
send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]

Reason
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Founder, Longevity Meme

______________________________

RECENT NEWS

UN Seeks Global Theraputic Cloning Ban (October 19 2003)
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/publicservices/story/0,11032,1066377,00.html
(From the Guardian). It seems that the United Nations, urged on by the
strongly anti-research US administration, is moving in the direction
of a global ban on all forms of cloning, including theraputic cloning
used in regenerative medicine and other potential healthy life
extension therapies. This, needless to say, is a very bad thing.
Current US policies and threatened legislation have already caused
great damage to scientific research in these fields. This directly
affects the development of healthy life extension medicine and damages
your future health and longevity.

Alcor Thriving Despite Controversy (October 19 2003)
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/1019alcor-main19.html
The Arizona Republic has published a fair number of good articles on
cryonics in past months. Here is another informative, balanced article
on Alcor that summarizes recent events and provides a high level
insight into the nuts and bolts of cryonic suspension. As I have said
before, I think that all publicity is good publicity for cryonics as
an industry: public attention leads to growth, more revenue and
greater professionalism. Cryonic suspension is an important experiment
in life extension, and the only chance that many older or dying people
have (you can learn more at Cryonet). We need to see it improve and
grow.

Following Up On The Shermer Article (October 18 2003)
http://www.speculist.com/archives/000280.html
The Speculist has published a commentary on the Michael Shermer
article at SciAm that was posted here yesterday. The essence of it
would seem to be that Shermer is not fully aware of developments in
the field, which is a fair enough criticism. I feel that the core
point of Shermer's article stands, however, which is that far, far
more needs to be done to prevent the aging and death of everyone alive
today. We stand close to great medical breakthroughs, but there is
little funding and a lack of public interest and knowledge: education
and activism are key to our future health and longevity!

Nanomedicine Volume II Published (October 18 2003)
http://www.nanomedicine.com/
You may have read Robert A. Freitas' article "Death is an Outrage"
here at the Longevity Meme. The author is well known for his
scientific groundwork on nanomedicine for healthy life extension; the
latest volume in his work has just been published. Whether or not you
are a scientist, the book website - where you can read the full text
of volume I - and the author's site provide fascinating insights into
futuristic medicine. These technologies may be turning up sooner than
you think, as money is pouring into basic nanotechnology research
these days.

Hacking the Maximum Lifespan (October 17 2003)
http://www.life-enhancement.com/neofiles/default.asp?id=7
This is an interesting interview over at NeoFiles, a conversation with
Michael Anissimov (director at the Immortality Institute) and Aubrey
de Gray (biogerontologist, founder of the Methuselah Mouse prize) on
healthy life extension, attitudes, research and recent history. It
covers a range of topics, with an optimistic, realistic view of what
lies ahead. The future of healthy life extension involves a lot of
work, but there is potential for a large payoff in terms of radical
increases to healthy lifespan. Beyond this, the interview has a wealth
of links to other resources - it should keep you reading for a while.

Interview With Cynthia Kenyon (October 17 2003)
http://www.newscientist.com/opinion/opinterview.jsp?id=ns24171
This interview from the New Scientist has been doing the rounds. In
it, Professor Kenyon discusses the prospects for near term healthy
life extension and her work on extending the lives of worms in the
laboratory. As a note, Professor Kenyon is associated with Elixir
Pharmaceuticals, a company founded to work on theories of life
extension relating to insulin systems. There are some links between
this sort of work and that done on the genetics of calorie restriction
by the likes of BioMarker, another small healthy life extension
research company.

Another Reminder As To Why We Fight Aging (October 17 2003)
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0001AF03-A8B1-1F57-905980A84189EEDF
>>From Scientific American a reminder that everyone now alive - six
billion people - will die within the next 120 years ... unless we
succeed in developing working healthy life extension therapies. While
there is progress in the labs, nothing aside from calorie restriction
is working and available for use yet. Conservatives, bioethicists and
politicians are trying hard to make sure it stays that way. This is a
fight, a fight for our future health and longevity: on the one hand,
we must support, advocate and fund medical research, and on the other
hand we must protect scientific advancement from those who try to
block progress.

Bioethics Council Tells Us All To Die Young (Again) (October 16 2003)
http://bioethics.gov/reports/beyondtherapy/chapter4.html
The President's Council on Bioethics has issued Beyond Therapy:
Biotechnology and the Pursuit of Happiness. The chapter on healthy
life extension ("ageless bodies") gives a good primer on current
technologies, research and potentials, and how therapies can be used
in the near future to extend healthy lifespans. It then heads off into
la-la land to tell us that we should not develop these therapies; in
other words Kass and the Bioethics Council are still telling us that
we should all suffer and die young.

Aubrey de Grey Speaking at Pop!Tech (October 16 2003)
http://www.poptech.com/speakers.cfm?page=speaker_detail&id=84
The Pop!Tech conference is getting underway today, and Dr. Aubrey de
Grey of the Methuselah Mouse project is one of the speakers. Dr. de
Grey is a noted biogerontologist and vocal advocate for healthy life
extension research. You can find out more about his work,
publications, opinions and research goals at the Strategies for
Engineered Negligible Senescence website (or "How to Develop a Cure
For Aging" for us less scientific types). You can express your
appreciation for the hard work Dr. de Grey is doing to lengthen our
healthy lifespans by donating to the Methuselah Mouse prize fund.

Canadian Public Backs Stem Cell Research (October 15 2003)
http://canada.com/national/story.asp?id=B014583F-409A-4FEF-80E0-A4C16C53B284
An article at Canada.com discusses the wide public support for
embryonic stem cell research in Cananda. This is set against the
backdrop of an ongoing, stalled debate over anti-research legislation
in the Canadian Parliament. It looks likely that any bill might die
rather than be passed, and arms of the Canadian government are
proceeding with the allocation of research funds in any case. On the
whole, not a shining victory for progress, but a victory nonetheless.
I hope that this sort of scenario will be repeated elsewhere, and
other Western governments will give up on attempting to ban this
research.

Larger Cholesterol, Longer Life (October 15 2003)
http://www.betterhumans.com/News/news.aspx?articleID=2003-10-15-4
Betterhumans reports on research into genes that control cholesterol
in the body: long-lived people are more likely to have a genetic
variation that makes larger cholesterol particles. Longevity is
improved because larger cholesterol particles confer greater
resistance to age-related clogging of arteries (which in turn means
resistance to heart attacks and strokes). This research offers another
avenue of opportunity to improve healthy lifespan by attacking one of
the most common causes of death and disability in old age.

More on Suspended Animation (October 14 2003)
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/14/national/14CRYO.html?ex=1066708800&en=42b9eb692abbd02b&ei=5062
(From the New York Times). This is a good article on recent
developments in the cryonics industry, focusing on the latest provider
to enter the scene ... or rather trying to enter the scene in the face
of local government interference. From the article: "'These companies
need to be regulated or deregulated out of business,' said Rudy
Thomas, head of Arizona's Board of Funeral Directors." This sort of
unthinking opposition is ugly, but pretty much par for the course,
unfortunately. We can hope that balanced articles like this help to
bring more thoughtful attention to cryonics and the role it plays in
life extension.

Scaffolds Aid Regenerative Medicine Research (October 14 2003)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/10/031014072010.htm
ScienceDaily reports on progress in materials technology for
regenerative medicine research: polymer scaffolds that encourage stem
cells to differentiate and grow into three-dimensional tissue. The
work on scaffolds has been going on for a while, and is an important
step forward towards the goal of growing replacement organs as needed
from a patient's own tissues. An unlimited supply of transplants, or
ways to repair failing organs inside the body, are essential parts of
engineering longer, healthier lives.

Trading Donuts For Decades (October 13 2003)
http://www.sunspot.net/news/health/bal-te.diet13oct13,0,1112923.story?coll=bal-health-headlines
>>From SunSpot.net, a general interest article on calorie restriction.
As you should all know by now, calorie restriction is the only
currently available method, proven beyond a doubt, of extending your
healthy lifespan. It's really not as hard as much of the mainstream
media make it out to be. From the article: "It's no big deal. After
two weeks, you're not hungry anymore." Practicing calorie restriction
brings a range of other proven health benefits, so you really owe it
to yourself to at least look into it. If you want to benefit from the
medicine of the future, you have to be alive and healthy when it
arrives!

Interview With Bruce J. Klein (October 13 2003)
http://www.betterhumans.com/Features/Reports/report.aspx?articleID=2003-10-13-3
Betterhumans is running an interview with Bruce J. Klein, founder of
the Immortality Institute. Like the Longevity Meme, the Institute
works towards enabling a future of longer, healthier lives for all.
Education, raising awareness, supporting medical research and
spreading the word are all important forms of activism at this stage;
public attention drives funding, and funding drives science. The
Immortality Institute website is home to a friendly, active online
community interested in healthy life extension and other technological
advances - you should certainly visit and take a look.

Adult Versus Embryonic Stem Cell Research (October 12 2003)
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20031012-121339-2906r
The state of knowledge on the capabilities of adult and embryonic stem
cells is in flux, and this article from UPI summarizes current
confusion. While it is clear that adult stem cells have some
theraputic applications, scientists are not sure that this is true
regeneration. Researchers do not yet know whether adult stem cells can
be made to have the full, demonstrated potential of embryonic stem
cells. Since scientists are still actively seeking answers in these
fields, it is clear that we should not abandon embryonic stem cell
research before answers are in hand.

Teams Lining Up For Methuselah Mouse Prize (October 12 2003)
http://www.methuselahmouse.org/competitors.htm
The first four teams have signed up to compete for the Methuselah
Mouse prize for healthy life extension research. (Clicking on the
"more" buttons on that page will tell you more about the competitors
and their research backgrounds). Seven years ago, the X Prize was a
$10,000 fund. Today it is a $10 million prize about to be won by one
of more than twenty competing teams, so I see great things in the
future of the Methuselah Mouse project. Have you donated yet? This is
a great opportunity to help your future health and longevity.

Emphasising The Importance of Exercise Again (October 11 2003)
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031010/cgf031_1.html
Regular exercise is of great importance to natural longevity, along
with calorie restriction, a modest amount of supplements and a good
relationship with a good doctor. In the interests of further
encouraging you all to stay healthy for longer, here's a Yahoo article
showing that exercise tends to reduce annual medical bills by an
appreciable amount. If the promise of saving money and being healthy
doesn't get people exercising, then nothing will. Remember: the only
way to benefit from the medicine of the future is to stay alive and
healthy until it arrives!

Australians Also Working On Stem Cell Therapies for Blindness (October
11 2003)
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/10/11/1065676206311.html
Hot on the heels of Australian heart therapy successes, The Age
reports on progress towards regenerative medicine for blindness.
Researchers think that a working stem cell based cure for some forms
of blindness could be as little as five years away. Australia has a
much less hostile legislative environment for these forms of research,
which is why we are seeing progress there. Now if only politicians in
the US and Europe would take note of the damage they are doing to
research in their own countries!

Nanomedicine Aims At Cancer Cure By 2015 (October 10 2003)
http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20031009-041004-8514r.htm
>>From the Washington Times, a round up of quotes, opinions and
information on the role of nanomedicine in the fight against cancer.
Earlier this year, the National Cancer Institute announced the
ambitious, applauded goal of eliminating suffering and death due to
cancer by 2015. Advances in nanomedicine may mean cancer may finally
be removed as a threat this time next decade. It's worth noting that a
cure for cancer is an essential component of healthy life extension:
the longer we live, the more we become vulnerable to cancer, even with
the help of regenerative medicine.

Dr. Steven Austad Honored (October 10 2003)
http://www.geron.org/press/Kleemeier.htm
Dr. Steven Austad, a noted gerontologist, has received the Robert W.
Kleemeier Award for outstanding research in his field. Dr. Austad has
spoken favorably on healthy life extension and the need for medical
research in the past (notably to the President's Council for
Bioethics), and he is well regarded in the field. The world needs more
good gerontologists to carry research into aging forward; more funding
and more scientists would help to make healthy life extension medicine
a reality in our lifetimes.

Pauling Institute Funded To Study Aging (October 10 2003)
http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2003/10/06/daily48.html
The Portland Business Journal notes that the Pauling Institute has
recieved funding from the NIH to study the molecular basis of the
aging process. All funding is welcome, but we should remember that
this is a small award in the grand scheme of things. Very little
funding goes to aging and healthy life extension research, and this
situation has to be improved. Without more funding, real anti-aging
therapies are likely to arrive too late to help you and I. The way to
change the funding picture is activism and education: if enough voices
clamor for healthy life extension medicine, then the funding will
come.

Posthetics Advance Alongside Regenerative Medicine (October 09 2003)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/10/031009070150.htm
Regenerative medicine uses biological tools (like stem cells) to heal
and restore fuction; prosthetics uses implants and machines. This
article from Science Daily notes increased research funding in
California for implantable prosthetics to fix blindness, stroke damage
and paralysis. These are admirable goals, and it is good to see
different lines of research converging on the same objective: helping
people to live healthily for longer.

Australians Repeat Heart Stem Cell Successes (October 09 2003)
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/10/09/1065676096622.html
The Syndey Morning Herald reports on successful trials of regenerative
medicine for the heart in Melbourne, Australia (found via
Transhumanity). This follows impressive successes in recent months -
in the US and elsewhere - using this first generation stem cell
therapy. Approximately 50,000 people are killed by heart problems each
year in the US alone, but this therapy is blocked by the FDA despite
the obvious and pressing applications. What better time to write to
your representatives and ask them why US doctors are being held back
from saving tens of thousands of lives each year?

Indian Group Moves Ahead With Regenerative Medicine Research (October
08 2003)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=221780
While the US languishes under the threat of anti-research legislation,
scientists in some other nations are moving ahead. The Times of India
covers recent stem cell and regenerative medicine research by Reliance
Life Sciences, who say they are ready for animal trials with some of
their technology. Meaningful progress in regenerative medicine will
mean longer, healthier lives for all of us: much of the damage done by
aging and age-related conditions will become repairable or
preventable. The scientists who work hard to bring these benefits to
us certainly deserve more recognition, funding and public support than
they are getting.

Exercise Is Key At All Ages (October 08 2003)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=221780
There are a few basics when it comes to taking care of your own
health: diet, a good physician, a modest supplement regimen and
exercise plan. That last one often seems to slip through the cracks;
perhaps because it's more work (by definition). As this article from
EurekAlert reminds us, exercise is very important to long term health
at all ages. You'll have to take good care of your body if you want to
be hale and hearty when the first real healthy life extension
medicines appear. Work to be healthier now, and support the march to
faster, better medical research - that's the way to go!

Lucky Lab Accident May Lead to Immune System Regeneration (October 07
2003)
http://www.uga.edu/news/artman/publish/031001manley.shtml
Lucky lab accidents that lead to advances in science are more common
than you might think, but it takes a savvy scientist to see the
benefit of what at first appears to be something going awry. Here
(from the UGA News Service) is an article on what might be the first
steps towards regenerative therapies for damaged immune systems. From
the article, "researchers may one day be able to selectively turn on
T-cell production — making numerous diseases far less virulent or even
extending life."

Women's Longevity Due to Avoidance of Risk (October 07 2003)
http://www.fftimes.com/index.php/6/2003-09-30/15431
>>From the Fort Francis Times, a short note on a recent study that
suggests the well known gap in longevity between men and women is due
to risk management. Women are more likely to avoid risky, damaging
behavior and take better care of their health and bodies. I encourage
you to read the three steps to healthy life extension and think about
how simple and easy it is to take better care of your health. Doing
well makes you more likely to be alive, healthy and active to benefit
from the life- and health- extending medicine of the future.

A Walk To Cure Aging? (October 06 2003)
http://imminst.org/forum/index.php?act=ST&f=1&t=1913&s=
Fundraising walks to support medical research are common, well
understood events. Walk for the Cure, Walk to Cure Juvenile Diabetes,
AIDS Walk and many others have been very successful in raising
awareness, educating the public and bringing in charitable donations.
So why not a Walk to Cure Aging? I, and the Immortality Institute
founders, think this would be a very worthwhile event to organize, a
good step forward for healthy life extension. To this end, we are
soliciting opinions and advice from you all. Please do follow the link
and add your comments; we'd love to hear from you.

More Progress In Alzheimer's Research (October 06 2003)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/10/031006064840.htm
>>From Science Daily, news of another new direction for Alzheimer's
researchers to explore. The large sums invested in Alzheimer's
research are starting to pay off, judging from recent publicized
breakthroughs. At least three separate and distinct paths to blocking
or curing the disease are currently under exploration, and scientists
are making good progress: this is what happens when the funding comes
through. If activism for healthy life extension research can become as
vocal and effective as activism for Alzheimer's research, this is the
sort of progress we could expect to see in obtaining longer, healthier
lives.

______________________________

Do you have comments for us, or want to discuss the newsletter? Visit
the Longevity Meme forum at http://www.longevitymeme.org/forum.cfm, or
send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]