Slashdot Mirror
First Successful Gene Therapy Against Human Aging? (geekwire.com)
An anonymous reader writes:
For the first time data may show that a human being has been successfully rejuvenated by gene therapy, claims Bioviva USA. "In September 2015, then 44 year-old CEO of Bioviva USA Inc. Elizabeth Parrish received two of her own company's experimental gene therapies: one to protect against loss of muscle mass with age, another to battle stem cell depletion responsible for diverse age-related diseases and infirmities." Bypassing America's FDA, the controversial therapies were described by the MIT Technology Review as "do-it-yourself medicine," saying it "raises ethical questions about how quickly such treatments should be tested in people and whether they ought to be developed outside the scrutiny of regulators."
"The treatment was originally intended to demonstrate the safety of the latest generation of the therapies," reports Bioviva's web site. "But if early data is accurate, it is already the world's first successful example of telomere lengthening via gene therapy in a human individual."
Other people would pin it on basic numeracy.
Slashdot: where don knuth is an idiot because he cant grasp the awesome power of php
A bit off topic, but can anyone recommend some good science fiction novels that deal with this subject (i.e. the consquences of living in a world where aging was suddenly easily cured, and people died only by violence (and maybe disease too))?
She only took the treatment 7 months ago. How much could we really know about it's efficacy in such a short period? Unless she reverted to looking like a 20 year old person (she doesn't), then I have a hard time believing that it's really working. Also, we don't know how it will effect her long term.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
I guess we're just going to have to take it at face value that the CEO of the company, the person who has the most to gain from an increase in stock price, is making totally truthful and unbiased claims about the efficacy of this treatment.
You must be American, where junk food costs literallynothing but normal food is expensive and going to the hospital costs money.
Some observations which may seem obvious but bear mentioning: (1) In today's out-of-control / Ponzi monetary system, this is almost enough to start a speculative bubble (2) At some point anti-aging breakthroughs at a fundamental level are inevitable (3) When real anti-aging therapies become available they are going to be priced out of this world...literally priced for billionaries. The LAST thing in the world your health-insurance is likely to underwrite is something which will extend your natural lifespan to something preternatural. Can you imagine ObamaCare doing that? Can you imagine the impact of such a move, were it to occur, on the broken pension/SS/medicare system and the negative interest rate economy in general? (4) We have a problem already with "elites" buying it all -- including complete control of the government. Can you imagine the situation when billionaires -- and only billionaires -- can afford to live forever? (5) That's right: totalitarianism by the 0.001% for the 0.001% ... forever.
I'd say if we are going to "fix" the government and monetary/tax system we might want to fix it sooner than later.
The average American is an idiot too.
And pensions are for people who are in unions. You think companies just all of a sudden decided to give retiring workers money? Pensions were something that were fought for through labor organizing.
You can thank Ronald Reagan and trickle-down economics for pensions where people can live with dignity in old age to 401k plans (if they're lucky) that are nothing but piggy banks for Wall Street to play with.
You are welcome on my lawn.
"It is really and it is already only for the rich.
Heart bypass surgery, heart replacements, etc.... All only for the very wealthy."
"Living in a home not full of nasty crap or not living where the water has lead in it.... again only for the rich."
Again, lead pipes have been removed in other countries as well, we knew that the roman empire fell because they all died of lead poisoning and so we replaced them, but we pay something named 'taxes'.
"Being able to take vacations so that stress wont kill you early.... again only for the rich. "
I have 35 days paid vacation plus unlimited sick days and free train rides around Europe, also Ryanair at al ask less than 30$ for a flight almost anywhere here too, I'm doing about 5-8 voyages a year, Milan to buy shoes, Florence to relax, Rome to eat, Paris to shop, etc. and the best thing is, that it's cheaper than at home.
"itâ(TM)s going to take 15-20 years to get a drug through, but 100,000 people are going to die today! Weâ(TM)re so detached, how do you say that without feeling emotional? Thatâ(TM)s it, their value to this earth is gone. And itâ(TM)s real to them, itâ(TM)s very real to them. To us it seems like fantasy, but to them theyâ(TM)re facing their last moment, and we shouldnâ(TM)t feel comfortable with that."
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Some people are just not good looking, and some people look old before their time, but I saw the video and neither applies in the case of Liz Parrish. I suspect that the real problem here is that you're an asshole.
Probably, but I doubt that that will be her problem. Teleomere shortening is one of the body's defenses against cancer...and she's apparently turned that off. There may also be a similar reason for stem cell depletion, though I've never heard of one for certain, only a couple of things that suggest that stem cells are more likely to turn cancerous than other cells. And the word is suggest, as there are other findings that suggest that senescent cells are the ones most likely to turn cancerous.
I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
Teleomere shortening is one of the body's defenses against cancer...and she's apparently turned that off.
The articles are sadly lacking in detail as usual but my impression is that they have performed a one-off lengthening, not turned off shortening. Also, it seems it was only done to her leukocytes not every cell.
there are other findings that suggest that senescent cells are the ones most likely to turn cancerous.
There was a recent result in mice where they managed to eliminate all senescent cells. So do that first, then lengthen the telomeres periodically and who knows how long you might last.
the insurance company will probably pick up the tab anyway.
Which they'll pass on to their other clients.
Well that is how insurance companies work, whether you're 80 or 30 years old. But also don't forget about massive earnings they get from investing premiums.
Besides, how is it fair to denigrate the elderly making use of their insurance when they've probably been paying premiums for 40+ years? Shouldn't you be more upset about the 26-year old who just came off his parent's insurance plan, has paid a total of $200 in premiums, and then breaks his neck falling off one of those cheap "hoverboards" to the tune of $200,000?
Insurance is another form of gambling. Some people win more than others, and the house always gets a healthy cut.
"What do you despise? By this are you truly known." --Princess Irulan, Manual of Muad'Dib
/)