Pigs on Cocaine
- Miguel Fidalgo
- Mar 10, 2022
- 1 min read
Updated: Nov 12, 2022
A sampling of life sciences innovation from across the world.
1. Predictions for 2022
Chris Mason: thousands of people will emerge from clinical trials this year after having had their genomes edited. Some of them may have been cured of the common genetic blood disorders sickle-cell anemia and beta-thalassemia.
George Church: explosive progress in gene-editing and gene-targeted therapies for inherited conditions presenting in infancy will form an irrefutable rationale for offering genome sequencing to healthy newborns at scale.
David Sinclair: The first drug to slow aging will enter the final stage of human clinical trials.
2. Cellular Rejuvenation Therapy Reverses Signs of Aging in Mice
Scientists at the Salk Institute and Genentech have reversed the aging process in older mice.
Mice with the human-equivalent age of 35-70 years were given a mixture of four reprogramming molecules called Yamanaka factors. At the end of the study, the mice showed epigenetic markers (chemicals present alongside DNA, known to change as we age) consistent with much younger mice. Their bodies also behaved like those of younger mice: for instance, skin cuts healed quickly and with limited scarring.
"This suggests that the treatment is not simply pausing aging, but actively turning it backward."
3. The Pig-Heart Transplant's Secret Weapon? Cocaine.
Doctors used a drug cocktail including adrenaline, cortisol, and cocaine to keep the genetically-modified heart alive during transplantation.
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